Judd Foundation

A very special gallery, not the typical one. Our tour guy was very knowledgeable, and made it very authentic. I loved the building and the unique art pieces.

The tour of Donald Judd's SoHo home and studio is highly recommended. While photography is not allowed except on the ground floor, the upper floors demonstrate Donald Judd's impeccable taste including his own furniture and many great artworks, including by Ad Reinhardt, Claes Oldenburg, John Chamberlain, Frank Stella, Dan Flavin, Marcel Duchamp, and others. Our tour guide was highly knowledgeable. The ground floor currently has an exhibition on Robert Irwin (1928-2023).

Billie was a lovely, thoughtful and super informative educator, we learned so much in this peaceful jewel box of a space! Delightful times

I agree with many of the reviewers who say the tour guides aren’t knowledgeable enough. The space is great and I absolutely loved the huge Frank Stella Harran II. Our guide was very friendly and knew some stuff but would have loved a deeper explanation on Judd’s philosophy and views and why he chose certain things for the loft. Still worth a visit though!

Love that they keep the number of people on the tours small. I was on a tour with 5 others including the guide (Who was great). The small group made it possible to appreciate the spaces and art works at a maximum. Thanks!

Visited the foundation last Saturday on Feb 11th 2023. The foundation itself is absolutely spectacular of course however the horrific tour guide ruined it. Not only did she have no passion at all for art and Judd, but wasn't able to provide any insight beyond stating the obvious. All questions were answered by superficial answers. For example, I want to know what's the link between Chamberlain's piece in the bedroom and Judd for instance? Why did Judd move to Marfa to find solitude when in NYC he was apparently all about entertaining? What's the context of Flavin gifting him an installation etc? I would summarize the tour guide as rude, uptight, no passion and a clear language barrier.

Really amazing opportunity to see the private workshop, home, and living space of the are great artist, Donald Judd. You can't just show up, all reservations for tour are made online with a 3 month wait. It's definitely worth it though. Really a joy to see a home like this.

I visited the Donald Judd exhibit about 2 years ago and had a wonderful tour. The guides were very informative and interesting to hear the stories about how Judd worked. I loved looking at the Dan Flaven's work on the top floor. This building was so important to Donald Judd's use of proportions that it is a significant insight into how he created his work. If you like Donald Judd this is a must-do visit, enjoy!

I've known about Donald Judd for a few years. I'm originally from Texas and learned about Judd through this time in Texas - and have seen some of his art in Marfa. But I'd never visited this NYC site until this past Friday, when I took a tour of his house/studio at 101 Spring Street. So who was Judd? An American artist associated with minimalism (although our tour guide told us that Judd didn't like the term). He bought this property in 1968 and used it for his residence and studio even as he started spending more time in Marfa beginning in the 70s. The tour was fantastic. For about an hour and a half, our tour guide showed us several different levels of the property - the kitchen and dining room, the bedroom floor, another floor which served as a design and studio space, and more. The space is - shock shock - minimalist, but there's incredible art (his and others), furniture (including a dining room table he designed that I loooooooved), and other incredible touches. Our tour guide shared incredible stories about Judd and his family. He was informative, friendly, and funny, and the tour was a delight. If you're interesting in art (especially 20th century art and concepts) or architecture (the property has been renovated but in a way intended to preserve the property as it was during Judd's life and use of it) or are just looking for something to do in the City that is a little bit off the beaten path, definitely check out this tour!

First off, make sure you're in this to appreciate art, artists, and architecture. You're paying 35 bucks to climb several flights of stairs in a five story industrial structure in SoHo. And you don't get to take photos beyond the first floor. I didn't mind this, as I learned a lot about Donald Judd. And honestly, he wasn't even the most interesting part of this tour. Our guide, a delightful, knowledgeable woman (I wish I could remember her name--I'm going to start carrying a notebooks around with me)--she not only taught us about Judd, she taught us about art and art theory, and maybe even a little philosophy. This tour isn't for people looking for the flashy or ornamented. Judd's five story SoHo loft is pretty barren, but it's a sight to behold. His furniture isn't cushy or pleasant, but seeing the architecture, thinking about living in such a building--that's pretty extraordinary. Seeing the 12 or greater foot windows--that's something else. Hearing the guide talk about how Judd refused to define his art, how he pushed others to think about how art affected the function of their lives--that's what will stick with me. This is more of an exercise to teach us. Not to wow us or entertain us. And I think that's pretty amazing.

Happy to add to the 5 STAR review for the Judd Foundation. We had a spectacular experience. Our guide, Leah, was extremely knowledgeable, and answered any questions we had. Can't recommend this enough if you are fan of minimalist, conceptual art, or just want to learn more about Judd's life and the art that he lived among. You also have to book tickets in advance, as they fill up. The tour we were on included 6 additional people. It's also a great idea to make a day out of the Foundation by traveling nearby to the Earth Room and Broken Kilometer. Two on-site installations by Walter de Maria. Free admission and very much worth it. Enjoy!

Having just visited the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, seeing this space really adds a level of depth to the Donald Judd experience. A stunning building in the heart of SoHo.

Even if you're not a fan of Donald Judd's artistic aesthetic, visiting this museum, once his home, studio and personal gallery space, is a remarkable experience. It's a piece of NYC art history, a rare glimpse into the interior of a great cast-iron building, and a window into the mind and life of a seminal and influential artist. The tours are small and intimate, and you're given a chance to quietly walk around and experience this remarkable space. Truly a hidden gem and not to be missed. Be sure to visit the restrooms, even if you don't need them. You'll get a look at the subterranean structure that underpins this bit of architectural history. (If the door to the office/study space is open, peek in there, too. It's all built under the sidewalk and into the bedrock)

I've never been a major lover of Donald Judd's work and learning more about it on a tour of the recently opened Judd Foundation (such as, he based many of his sculptures on mathematical formulas) didn't do much to curry him favor with me. I just don't think there should be that much math in art! But nevertheless I really enjoyed touring the space and would recommend it to anyone who can get a reservation (it's by appointment only, and tours are booked far in advance). What's great about it is seeing some of the pieces in Judd's personal art collection, works by his friends who can be found in any big museum of modern art, but here they've been lived with. The art has grown into the house, which makes looking at it a very different experience than a museum. The huge geometric paintings by Frank Stella, an orderly puzzle of angles and curves, where the fruity kitchen colors of the 70s--avocado, oatmeal, lemon, peach--had faded into a lighter, odder palette, or in the bedroom, Dan Flavin's serially off-center array of fluorescent arches, whose red and blue light extended endlessly in the glass dorr on the elevator shaft and yellowed the picture windows with their shine. Curiously, the walk-in closet/dressing room had a caricature by Daumier about the 19th century art salons of Paris, not the kind of thing one would normaly associate with Judd! Also interesting to see the artist's obsession with order domestically applied to his kitchen counters, where all the forks and spoon lay out in a lengthy series.