From 1959 to 1965 Judd writes about art for major American art magazines — ARTnews, Arts Magazine and Art International; in the early and mid-1960s he discusses in detail the work of more than 500 artists showing in New York, addressing the social and political ramifications of art production.
1966
“Primary Structures” at the Jewish Museum
Judd shows two pieces at the seminal exhibition “Primary Structures” at the Jewish Museum in New York. In the panel discussion he challenges Mark di Suvero’s claim that real artists make their own art: the method should not matter as long as the result is art.
1968
Retrospective at the Whitney Museum
In 1968 the Whitney Museum of American Art stages a retrospective of Judd’s work that includes none of his early paintings.
1968
Buys 101 Spring Street
Judd buys a five-story cast-iron building at 101 Spring Street (designed by Nicholas Whyte, built in 1870) for under $70,000, and it becomes his New York residence and studio: over the next 25 years he renovates it floor by floor, occasionally installing works he bought or commissioned from other artists. The building lets him place his work permanently — the start of his insistent push for permanent installations, since temporary exhibitions, he believed, push the art itself into the background.
27 June 1968 – 6 October 1968
Exhibition: 4. documenta
1971
Rents a house in Marfa, Texas
In 1971 Judd rents a house in Marfa, Texas; he will later buy numerous buildings there and acquire more than 32,000 acres (130 km²) of ranch land, together known as Ayala de Chinati.
