Judd Foundation

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.

An incredible space (a five story building in Soho) that helps you understand the work and life of Donald Judd. The problem: the lack of a proper explanation by Judd’s on-site guide. If you don’t know who Judd was or what he stood for, you will end up the visit without knowing anything about him (unless someone on your group has asked). My piece of advice: do your homework before visiting the foundation, if not you will end up properly confused by the lack of motivation and explanation of the guide.

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!

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!

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)

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.

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.