Library Stool 42 & Cups

“I am often asked if the furniture is art, since almost ten years ago some artists made art that was also furniture. The furniture is furniture and is only art in that architecture, ceramics, textiles, and many things are art.” – Donald Judd, It’s Hard To Find A Good Lamp, 1993

In 1973 Donald Judd purchased the first portion of the complex of buildings in Marfa, Texas that make up The Block, a full city block which includes two large hangers where Judd installed his art and own collections, and amongst other things the hangers also included a personal library. Lined with volumes on pre-twentieth-century topics including classical art, architecture, history, and literature organized by region and country of origin, the first library had furniture including the library stool, table, chairs, daybed, and bookshelves, which were all designed by Judd. The first of the library furniture was the Library Table 13 was designed in 1978, Judd added the Library Bed 15 the following year, and finished with both the Library Chair 42 and Library Stool 42 in 1980.

Simple, light, and well made in Southern yellow pine, the Library Stool 42 is economically the starting point for Donald Judd’s furniture designs. Adding to the In-Stock program launched in 2017 by Donald Judd Furniture, these Library Stool 42’s will be on view at Salon 94 Design’s Freeman Alley location, and will be made available for purchase online through our webshop, and later available though Judd Furniture. Donald Judd wood furniture is impressed  with a production stamp and numbered sequentially. Additionally, each of these stools comes in a branded linen dust bag, and are double boxed, ready to ship from New York.

This presentation pairs Donald Judd’s Library Stool 42, with ceramic cups and vessels by contemporary ceramicist Takuro Kuwata.

Takuro Kuwata’s cups are a contemporary take on the classic yunomi, the most common type of Japanese teacup, made for daily or informal tea drinking. The word is derived from oyu meaning hot water and nomu meaning to drink. Each of Kuwata’s yunomi cups are created with a slip casting mold to make the porcelain base, which Kuwata then individually applies over the molded cups his signature gold or platinum and seals with a shino glaze, making each cup unique. Like Judd’s Library Stool 42, each cup comes in its own tomobako box and is the most economically accessible object in his repertoire.

Click to view our Shop Page