BACKGROUND:
In 1978, artist Donald Judd came across the 340 acre historical D.A. Russell military fort in Marfa, Texas. Judd saw great potential in the expansive, solitary landscape and with some help from the Dia Art Foundation, he began renovating, rebuilding, and making work on what is now the grounds of the Chinati Foundation.
Judd wrote a statement for the Chinati upon its public opening in1987:
"It takes a great deal of time and thought to install work carefully. This should not always be thrown away. Most art is fragile and some should be placed and never moved again. Somewhere a portion of contemporary art has to exist as an example of what the art and its context were meant to be. Somewhere, just as the platinum-iridium meter guarantees the tape measure, a strict measure must exist for the art of this time and place."
Judd's vision was create a space for artistic inspiration, fabrication, and long term placement of work open for public viewing. You can now explore the Chinati Foundation campus and view major works from artists like John Chamberlin, Dan Flavin, Carl Andre, Richard Lon, Robert Irwin, and John Welsey, that are part of the permanent collection.
ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM:
MISSION: "The Chinati Foundation/La Fundación Chinati is a museum created for the public by the artist Donald Judd in Marfa, Texas. Since Chinati’s establishment in 1986, its foremost mission has been the preservation of this unique situation, in which artists have determined how their work will be seen in permanent relationship to architecture and the land. An ongoing program of scholarship, education, exhibitions, and artist residencies is also key to Chinati’s vitality and engagement with its communities—and to Judd’s ethos of art as an essential part of life."
OVERVIEW: The residency program started in 1989 and has since provided more than 150 artists from around the world with the resources and support to continue their practice. The artist in residence are given flexibility in their work schedules during the two month long residency. At the end of residency, there is typically an exhibition of the artist's work.
Artists in residence are given a stipend of $1,500 for travel and material expenses, a furnished apartment, and a studio in Marfa, Texas.
Chinati is not accepting applications for 2023 so that they can accommodate the artists who had to postpone their residency to the pandemic.
WORKS DEVELOPED @ CHINATI & PART OF PERMANENT COLLECTION:
Donald Judd: 100 untitled works in mill aluminum, 1982–1986, 15 untitled works in concrete, 1980–1984, The Arena, 1980–1987
John Wesley: Al Capone Flouting the Law, 1970 Chateau, 1983 Choir, 1988 Day Titanic, 1984 Hannah in Shades, 1989 Hunting Dogs, 1985 Jack Frost, 1971 Mattress Cloud, 1981 Panoply: Eight Silkscreens Inspired by the Splendours of the Great War, 1971 Six-Legged Sheep, 1993 Tour de France, 1982
CHINATI AIR ALUMNI WE FOLLOW:
Visit https://chinati.org for this and more information.