MoMA to stage long-awaited Donald Judd retrospective in 2020

A major figure in the Minimal Art movement, Donald Judd entered the scene in the late '60s with his sleek, rectilinear works such as his "Judd boxes." In 1979, Mr. Judd would go on to move to a small Texan town, transforming the city of Marfa into a blue-chip arts destination and cementing his role as one of the foremost American artists of the postwar era. Now, the Museum of Modern Art in New York has announced a retrospective that will highlight his decades-long career.

Set to open in March 2020, the long-awaited retrospective is the first of its kind in over thirty years, since the Whitney Museum presented a full-career survey of the artist, sculptor, and architectural designer in the late '80s. Now, for a younger generation that has become familiar with Judd's work namely through road trips to the "most instagrammable spot in all of Texas", 60 of his works will be displayed exploring his remarkable vision and showcasing the full breadth of his career.

“Half a century afterJudd established himself as a leading figure of his time, there remains a great deal to discover. MoMA’s presentation will emphasize the radicality of his approach to art-making and the visual complexity of his work,” said Ann Temkin, MoMA's chief curator of painting and sculpture. Temkin is curating the show alongside Yasmil Raymond, an associate curator; Tamar Margalit, a curatorial assistant; and Erica Cooke, a research fellow in MoMA's painting and sculpture department. 

Donald Judd will also be one of the first major exhibitions at MoMA after its reopening in October, when the museum's $400 million expansion completes. Reopening with an emphasis on women and artists of color, his retrospective will follow other highly-anticipated exhibits: a survey of Latin American art, solo shows for Betye Saar and Pope.L, and a retrospective of the works of Depression-era photographer, Dorothea Lange.