The creative legacy of Donald Judd is back in the contemporary spotlight once more with a never-before-seen dinner service, designed by the American artist, finally seeing the light of day. Expertly crafted by the French silversmith Puiforcat, the eight-piece collection beautifully exemplifies Judd’s artistic philosophy. Based on sketches of a dinner service that he made in 1989, the designs for bowls, plates and cups repeatedly toy with the idea of cylindrical forms intersected by perpendicular planes.
Puiforcat and Donald Judd: discover the collection
Despite producing an original set of prototypes consisting of several plates in ceramic and other pieces in stainless steel, the designs were not taken further by the time of Judd’s passing in 1989 as they did not achieve the razor-sharp precision that he had intended. Under the supervision of Flavin Judd, the artist’s son and artistic director of the Judd Foundation, these forgotten designs have been exquisitely brought to life in sterling silver by Puiforcat.
‘Judd Foundation has a long-standing relationship with Hermès; as a heritage company, we have shared values of material standards and craftsmanship. This project was the result of conversations on the possibilities of working with the artistry employed by the experts within Puiforcat, and there was an opportunity to complete Don’s intentions and realise these in silver,’ says Flavin Judd. ‘As with the metal furniture, the process of making the pieces by hand is very much in line with his thinking.’
Produced in close dialogue with Puiforcat’s artistic directors Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry, Judd’s original designs have been interpreted and completed in this new material. The results achieve the precise 90 degree angles specified in the artist’s concept sketches and technical drawings that lay dormant in the Judd Foundation’s archives in Marfa, Texas. Made by Puiforcat’s silversmiths, each design involves shaping the metal into cylindrical vessels using spinning lathes, regularly under heat to maintain their malleability, while deploying a brazing molten-filler technique so that no welding points are visible. Polished and buffed to a natural shine, the collection is an admirable testament to Judd’s artistic process and formal vocabulary.
The final result is a collection of dinner, bread, salad, soup and dessert places, and a serving bowl and cups available in a range of dimensions to form a complete table setting. Each piece is numbered, and stamped with an artist's mark, Puiforcat’s emblematic diamond-shaped logo containing founder Emile Puiforcat’s EP initials.
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