Mid-century artist Donald Judd’s geometric sculptures, design descends on South Africa, and large-scale wood sculptures that represent vessels carrying the dead into the afterlife.
Donald Judd Untitled 1973, Brass and blue Plexiglas 33 x 68 x 48 inches (83.82 x 172.7 x 121.9 cm), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Panza Collection, 1991 91.3721 Art © Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY Minimalism Photo taken 06/2016
Judd Museum of Modern Art, 11 W 53rd St., New York
He might never have admitted it, but mid-century artist Donald Judd revolutionized modern sculpture. Using industrial materials such as aluminum, steel, and Plexiglas, he developed his signature vocabulary of hollow “boxes” often arranged in a series. Presenting the first Judd retrospective in the United States in more than 30 years, MoMA explores Judd’s multidisciplinary work, displaying the colorful geometric sculptures that redefined artistic approaches to form and space, along with his paintings, drawings, and rarely seen works from the past three decades (March 1–July 11, times and prices vary).
Jennifer Ament: Night is Day, Day is Night ZINC Contemporary, 119 Prefontaine Pl. S, Seattle
Seattle-based artist Jennifer Ament makes her first foray into painting with works that comment on her experience with feminism on the internet and the pervasiveness of false personas in the digital world. Featuring a minimal color palette, her paintings explore themes of existence, reality, and what defines truth in this modern era. (February 20–March 21; times vary)
Design Indaba Artscape Theatre Centre, D.F. Malan St., Foreshore, Cape Town, South Africa
Inspiring talks by day, multisensory festival by night, this three-day fair is an immersive experience for the African design community. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the design-fueled event hosts live music, theater, and film screenings, plus numerous exhibitions and speakers, including Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, fashion curator and creative director Sunny Dolat, and Zimbabwean bio-designer Natsai Audrey Chieza. (February 26-28, 2020; times and prices vary)
Paa Joe: Gates of No Return High Museum, 1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta
Ghanaian artist and master craftsman Joseph Tetteh-Ashong (a.k.a. Paa Joe) is known for constructing figurative coffins that represent the lives of the dead. In this exhibition, seven of his large-scale, painted wood sculptures, which depict architectural models of Gold Coast castles and forts where millions of Africans were sold into slavery and sent to the Americas and the Caribbean, are on view. The enslaved people were transported through the Gates of No Return and onto a dangerous journey that often resulted in death. These sculptures represent vessels carrying the dead into the afterlife. (February 29–May 31; General Admission, $14.50, members, free)[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]
The Design Datebook is GRAY’s weekly list of must-attend design and cultural events around the globe.
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