Lugano
Christo was born in 1935 in Gabrovo, Bulgaria. A visionary artist and pioneer of environmental art, he is known for his monumental outdoor installations, made mainly of textiles and plastic materials. After studying at the National Academy of Art in Sofia, he worked briefly in Prague and later enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, where he stayed for a semester. A brief stop in Geneva followed, before finally settling in Paris in 1958.
It was in Paris that he met Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009), who would become not only his life partner but also an inseparable partner in the creative process. In the same year, Christo began to develop his signature style with his first “parcels” and wrapped objects. Their first official collaboration was in 1961 with the installation “Stacked Oil Barrels and Dockside Packages” in the port of Cologne. In 1964 they moved to New York City, where they continued to develop a unique and revolutionary artistic path together.
The collaboration between Christo and Jeanne-Claude has produced some of the most iconic works of contemporary art, works that have redefined the concept of landscape and temporary installation. Some of the most famous projects include: “Valley Curtain” (1972), a gigantic orange curtain suspended between two mountains in Rifle Gap, Colorado; “Running Fence” (1976), a 39-kilometer-long ribbon of fabric that spanned the hills of Marin and Sonoma counties, California; “Surrounded Islands” (1983), which surrounded 11 islands in Biscayne Bay, Florida, with bright pink fabrics; and “Pont Neuf Wrapped” (1985), which transformed the oldest bridge in Paris into an ephemeral, surreal work.
In 1991, they carried out the project “The Umbrellas,” which saw giant yellow and blue umbrellas open simultaneously in two separate locations: Tejon Pass, California, and the Sato River Valley, Japan. One of their most acclaimed works was the “Wrapped Reichstag” (1995), in which the landmark building of unified Germany was draped in silver: an artistic gesture of great visual and symbolic impact, capable of capturing the attention of the entire world.
In 2005, after a full 26 years of planning and negotiation, they created “The Gates” in Central Park, New York: 7,503 saffron-colored portals winding along the park’s pathways, radically transforming its perception. After Jeanne-Claude’s death in 2009, Christo continued their work with undiminished energy and vision. In 2016 he completed “The Floating Piers,” a land art work on Lake Iseo, Italy, that allowed visitors to literally walk on water, connecting the mainland to the islands with a floating walkway covered in gold fabric. In 2018 he presented in London “The London Mastaba,” a large installation of floating barrels on Serpentine Lake, inspired by architectural forms of ancient Egypt.
He died in New York in May 2020, leaving one last dream unfinished: the wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. In keeping with his wishes, the project was completed posthumously in 2021 by his team, representing a powerful epilogue to his career.
