44 - Based on works by DONALD JUDD (Missouri, 1928 – New York, 1994).

Based on works by DONALD JUDD (Missouri, 1928 – New York, 1994). Bed frame, 1970s. Solid wood. Exhibits wear consistent with age and use. Measurements: 230 cm wide + 25 cm on each side, 250 cm long. A low, dark wooden frame with a distinctly horizontal composition, in which the cross-section of the elements, the continuity of the lines, and the arrangement of the supports define its visual presence. The finish reveals the wood’s grain and color variations, whose texture introduces an organic dimension to a design of evident geometric rigor. The appeal of this structure lies in the reduction of the object to its constituent elements. Without added ornamentation or superfluous decorative elements, the piece makes geometry, proportion, and materiality its primary means of expression. The composition draws on the principles of minimalism, understood not so much as an aesthetic of austerity but rather as an exploration of the physical presence of objects. The repetition of parallel lines, the clarity of construction, and the subordination of each element to an overall structure facilitate a direct interpretation, in which form and function appear inseparable. The piece finds a significant point of reference in the work of Donald Judd (1928–1994), a central figure in postwar American art and one of the leading proponents of a new conception of the three-dimensional object. His artistic practice, centered on geometry, materials, and real space, also extended to furniture design, initially developed for his own living and working spaces in New York and, later, in Marfa, Texas. In his furniture designs, Judd brought to everyday life a constant concern for precise proportions, constructive logic, and the honesty of materials. His wooden pieces, in particular, demonstrate how a basic arrangement of boards and joints can produce a form of great visual intensity without resorting to ornamentation.