Christo

Key facts

Lived

1935–2020, Bulgarian-American

Movements

• Contemporary
• Land Art

• What is Christo known for?+

  Christo is known for his monumental public art projects that involved wrapping large structures and natural elements in fabric. These temporary installations, realised with his artistic partner Jeanne-Claude, altered familiar places and encouraged a fresh perspective on the surroundings. Their projects included wrapping the Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin.
• What is Christo's most famous work?+

  Christo (born Christo Javacheff in 1935) is known for his temporary, large-scale environmental artworks. Often collaborating with his wife, Jeanne-Claude, his work typically involves wrapping buildings or creating temporary installations in outdoor settings. While it is difficult to name one single 'most famous' work, several projects have received considerable attention. These include 'Wrapped Reichstag' in Berlin (1995), where the German Parliament building was completely covered in fabric; 'The Gates' in New York's Central Park (2005), a series of saffron-coloured fabric panels hung along park walkways; and 'Surrounded Islands' in Biscayne Bay, Miami (1983), where pink fabric encircled islands. These projects demonstrate Christo's ambition to alter perceptions of familiar spaces through temporary interventions on a massive scale.
• What should I know about Christo's prints?+

  Christo Javacheff (1935-2020), known as Christo, began his career wrapping objects in the early 1960s. He and his partner, Jeanne-Claude, worked in France until 1964, before moving to New York. Christo's prints often relate to his large-scale environmental works. These projects involved temporary alterations to public monuments, urban structures, or rural locations. Examples include *The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris* (1975-85), and *Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin* (1971-95). These installations began as unsolicited proposals, financed by the artists themselves. His prints can be viewed in the context of Land Art, though Christo also created other works for the market. He was unique as a Land artist in that his work sold consistently from 1972 onward. Some of his work was sold directly through salesrooms, starting in the early 1980s. When considering the value of a print, it is important to note that the numbering of prints has only recently become standard. Early prints were usually not numbered or signed.
• What style or movement did Christo belong to?+

  Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude are associated with Environmental art, also known as Land art. This is due to their practice of creating temporary large-scale installations that interact with the environment. Christo studied art in Bulgaria and Vienna. After moving to Paris, he began wrapping objects. From 1961 onwards, Christo and Jeanne-Claude collaborated on large projects dealing with the environment. One example is the wrapping of a million square feet of the Australian coast in 1969. In 1972, they hung a large curtain across a valley at Rifle Gap, Colorado. These temporary works often required years of preparation and numerous meetings with local authorities. The artists aimed to intensify the viewer's awareness of the space by temporarily modifying it with cloth, rather than altering the land itself.
• What techniques or materials did Christo use?+

  Christo, along with his wife Jeanne-Claude, was known for large-scale environmental installations. These projects often involved wrapping buildings or natural features in fabric. One of their signature techniques was the use of polypropylene fabric. This material was chosen for its strength, durability, and ability to be recycled after the installation was dismantled. The fabric was often brightly coloured, creating a striking visual contrast with the wrapped object. In addition to fabric, Christo and Jeanne-Claude used rope, steel cables, and other materials to secure the fabric and create the desired shape. The scale of their projects required careful engineering and logistical planning. They also created preparatory drawings, collages, and scale models to visualise their concepts and secure funding. These preliminary works are often sold as artworks in their own right. Their large-scale temporary works include "Wrapped Coast, One Million Square Feet, Little Bay, Sydney, Australia, 1968-69"; "Valley Curtain, Rifle, Colorado, 1970-72"; "Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972-76"; "Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, 1980-83"; "The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975-85"; "The Umbrellas, Japan-USA, 1984-91"; "Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971-95"; "The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005"; "The Floating Piers, Lake Iseo, Italy, 2014-16"; and "The London Mastaba, Serpentine Lake, Hyde Park, 2016-18".
• When did Christo live and work?+

  Christo Javacheff (1935-2020) was born in Gabrovo, Bulgaria; his wife and artistic partner, Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935-2009), was born on the same day in France. They met in Paris in 1958 and began making art together in 1961. Christo and Jeanne-Claude created environmental artworks, often wrapping buildings or fabricating temporary cloth structures in open spaces. Early examples of Christo's work include *Object in Five Planes (Peace)*, donated to the United States Mission to the United Nations in 1966, and *Running Legs* (1967, plus neon tubes added in 1980). The pair worked collaboratively from the 1960s until Jeanne-Claude's death in 2009; Christo continued to plan projects until his own death in 2020.
• Where can I see Christo's work?+

  Christo and Jeanne-Claude's large-scale environmental works were temporary by design; therefore, no single location offers a permanent display of their signature wrapped projects. However, museums worldwide hold drawings, photographs, scale models, and original objects related to their installations. In the United States, institutions with relevant holdings include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Wolfsonian in Miami Beach, and the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. In Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto may hold relevant works. In the United Kingdom, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh, the Manchester Art Gallery, the Geffrye Museum in London, and the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery are possible locations to view Christo-related pieces. In France, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Musée d’Orsay may also hold works connected to the artists' projects.
• Where was Christo from?+

  Christo Javacheff (born 1935) was from Gabrovo, Bulgaria, and he came from an industrialist family. He studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Sophia from 1953 to 1956. During a visit to Prague, he decided to leave Eastern Europe. In 1957, he spent a semester at the Vienna Fine Arts Academy, then moved to Paris the following year. There, he began his first well-known series, Wrapped Objects and Packages, in which he covered objects, such as furniture or flowers, with plastic or textiles and bound them with rope. Until 1964, Christo and his partner Jeanne-Claude worked in France. After his first three Storefronts, Christo took up permanent residence in New York with Jeanne-Claude and their son, Cyril. Since leaving Europe, Christo and Jeanne-Claude continued work on projects with architectural scale, including Dockside Packages at the Cologne Harbor, in Germany in 1961, and Iron Curtain-Wall of Oil Barrels, which blocked the Rue Visconti in Paris in 1962.
• Who did Christo influence?+

  Christo and Jeanne-Claude aimed to intensify the viewer's awareness of spaces, both rural and urban. Their method involved temporarily modifying environments with cloth, rather than physically altering the land itself, as Robert Smithson did. Smithson, an American artist, created Environmental works using industrial equipment to manipulate earth and rock. His "Spiral Jetty" (1970) in the Great Salt Lake, Utah, is a prime example. Smithson designed his work in response to the location itself. Christo, originally from Bulgaria, studied art in Vienna. After moving to Paris, he began encasing objects, appropriating elements of the real world into wrapped forms. From 1961, Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude collaborated on large-scale environmental projects. One example is "Wrapped Coast" (1969), which saw them wrap one million square feet of Australian coastline. Another is "Running Fence" (1972-76), which used white nylon to circumscribe an area in Sonoma and Marin Counties, California. Their temporary works, such as "Surrounded Islands" (1980-83) in Biscayne Bay, Florida, required years of preparation, research, and meetings with local authorities.
• Who influenced Christo?+

  Christo's artistic development occurred within a milieu of diverse influences. The artists Marcel Duchamp and Max Ernst appear as recurring figures in the network of influence. Duchamp, active from the early 20th century until 1968, explored conceptual art and challenged traditional artistic boundaries. Ernst, a key figure in Dada and Surrealism, experimented with collage and unconventional techniques. Both artists questioned established norms, which may have resonated with Christo's own iconoclastic approach to art-making. Other artists connected to Christo through influence include Andy Warhol, Joan Miró, and Alberto Giacometti. Warhol, a central figure in Pop Art, explored consumer culture and mass production. Miró, associated with Surrealism, developed a distinctive visual language. Giacometti, known for his elongated sculptures, explored themes of existentialism and the human condition. These connections suggest Christo's engagement with a broad range of artistic movements and ideas.
• Who was Christo?+

  Christo Javacheff (born in 1935, in Gabrovo, Bulgaria) was an artist known for his large-scale environmental installations, often in partnership with his wife, Jeanne-Claude. He studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Sophia from 1953 to 1956. In 1957, he left Eastern Europe and spent a semester at the Vienna Fine Arts Academy before moving to Paris in 1958. Initially, Christo created "Wrapped Objects and Packages", in which he concealed various items, from furniture to flowers, using plastic or textiles and rope. These works sometimes obscured the object's identity. From 1963 to 1968, he shifted his attention to the structures that frame commodities, producing small-scale vitrines and wood-framed Storefronts. After moving to New York, Christo and Jeanne-Claude worked on projects of an architectural scale. Their work often involved temporary alterations to public monuments, urban structures, or rural sites. Notable projects include "Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California" (1972-76), a 24.5-mile fence made of woven nylon, "The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris" (1975-85), which covered the historic bridge with sandstone-coloured fabric, and "Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin" (1971-95). These installations were unsolicited proposals financed by the artists.
• Why are Christo's works important today?+

  Christo Javacheff (born 1935, in Bulgaria) and his wife Jeanne-Claude (also born in 1935) are important for their temporary modifications to urban and rural environments. Rather than altering the land, as some artists do, they modify it, often with cloth. Christo's artistic career began with wrapping objects. After moving to Paris, he began to encase objects; he appropriated bits of the real world into the mysterious world of the unopened package. From 1963 to 1968, he shifted to structures that frame commodities, producing a series of small-scale vitrines. These glass boxes, similar to those in commercial establishments, had paper taped inside, masking the contents. This adjustment denied showcases their basic function: display. Christo and Jeanne-Claude began to collaborate on large-scale environmental projects in 1961. In 1969, they wrapped a million square feet of Australian coast. In 1972, they hung a vast curtain across a valley at Rifle Gap, Colorado. Their temporary works require years of preparation, research, and meetings with local authorities.