‘This is not comfortable’: how Donald Judd’s art and furniture taught a Hong Kong artist the secret to staying fresh
- Wong Kit-yi completed a residency with Donald Judd’s Chinati Foundation in 2021 in Marfa, in the US state of Texas, where the legendary minimalist lived
- His free-standing sculpture Untitled (1962) made a strong impression on Wong, as did his furniture, which taught her not to get too comfortable
Untitled (1962), a free-standing sculpture, was made entirely from scavenged materials by Donald Judd, the high priest of 20th century minimalist art, who was also a prolific furniture designer.
I went on the residency programme (in 2021) that was set up by him in 1986. They require you to submit a proposal about why you want to come to Marfa, and to be honest I wrote nothing about Donald Judd in my proposal.
I was more drawn to the extreme weather; there are not many residency programmes in the desert. I was drawn to the border between the United States and Mexico and to the meteorological border where the moist gulf air meets the dry air from the west. I’m drawn to hostile environments.
Normally they have 600 to 900 applicants and pick four to six. With a proposal not about minimalism, I doubted they’d pick me. If I had to choose a label for myself, it would be maximalist.
Going there was really important for me to learn about minimalist art in person – I got to live right in the middle of his art collection. Then I understood why he’s important.
