Next Big Thing: Harminder Judge
The artist creates large-scale multipanel paintings that explore themes of death, rebirth, and regeneration
Fusing principles drawn from neo-Tantric, Western abstraction, and Color Field styles of painting, Harminder Judge creates large-scale, multipanel canvases that explore themes of death, rebirth, and regeneration. “A lot of my work circles around the idea of transformation—the passage from one state to another, both physical and spiritual,” says Judge, who presented his first solo museum show, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, in early 2025. “My practice developed as a way of giving daily life meaning, a ritual structure to move through the world. If I can offer even a fleeting moment of stillness, or a kind of bodily disorientation where language falls away, then that’s enough.”
Unique process: Judge pours, sands, and polishes plaster, pigment, and other materials in layers. The flecks that animate the surface are fragments of earlier, failed works that the artist has folded back in—a reincarnation of sorts. “The most thrilling part is the reveal, seeing if internal order has emerged,” he says.
“Harminder’s wall reliefs explore wonderful color palettes and tactile depth, resulting in meditative, materially rich works, which possess a quiet power,” says Giampiero Tagliaferri, architectural and interior designer.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Winter issue under the headline “Next Big Things.” Subscribe to the magazine.