“There was the field, there were two painted bars and then two chrome bars that stood up. But if you counted everything going all the way across, you could count up to thirty: thirty different changes, thirty different notations—how the light struck, how the light changed the field or changed the painted bar, then the bar itself and the reflection, and so on.” John Chamberlain, 19861
Between 1963 and 1965, John Chamberlain made several paintings using successive layers of transparent lacquer and reflective flake, including a group of eight measuring four by four feet. To this surface, he then attached two right-angled metal bars. Of particular interest to Chamberlain was the multitude of optical effects produced by these works.
First exhibited at Leo Castelli Gallery in January 1965, Judd purchased six of the eight paintings, initially installing the works on the fourth floor of 101 Spring Street. Judd installed the paintings positioned as a square, though, per Chamberlain, they could also be rotated and installed at forty-five degrees.
In 1990, Judd acquired the Glascock Building in Marfa, a two-story building located in the historic district of downtown Marfa, which he designated as his Architecture Office. He used the ground floor as the office and the second floor as guest housing, in which he installed the paintings by Chamberlain, furniture by Alvar Aalto, and furniture of his own design. For Judd, the making and viewing of art were coextensive with the other activities of living. By placing Aalto furniture and Chamberlain paintings together, Judd created what was for him a natural setting for viewing art.