Christo

Up until his death in 2009, Christo established an inseparable artistic unity with his wife Jeanne-Claude. Whilst she studied Latin and philosophy at the University of Turin, Christo began his artistic education in 1953 at the Art Academy in Sofia. He later studied in Vienna and Paris, which is where they met. Having lived in New York since 1964, the couple's work belonged to the 'Nouveau Réalisme' and its American parallel movement 'New Realism', which in a radical 'departure from the picture', turned towards everyday objects. In elaborate packing and covering operations, Christo and Jean-Claude wrapped monuments, buildings and landscapes. At the same time, the wrapping drew attention to the wear and tear of our perception of daily life; it altered the view of the environment and made one aware of one's own surroundings. The first large outdoor project with wrapped objects was in 1961 in the Cologne harbour, with stacked oil barrels. At documenta 4 (1968) they were represented with the installation '5.600 Cubicmeter Package'. Further important Environments include 'Running Fence' (1995, Berlin) and 'The Gates' (2005, Central Park, New York). The artist couple financed the projects through the sale of smaller wrapped objects, drawings, collages and lithographs of the temporary events.