Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Christo (Christo Vladimirov Javacheff) was born in 1935 in Gabrovo, Bulgaria and died in 2020 in New York City, USA and Jeanne-Claude (Jeanne-Claude Marie Denat-de Guillebon) was born in 1935 in Casablanca, Morocco and died in 2009 in New York City, USA.
After studying at the Fine Arts Academy in Sofia, Christo decided to leave communist Bulgaria in 1957 and settled in Paris in 1958, attracted to the city’s aura and its dynamic art scene. A few months after his arrival, he met Jeanne-Claude, the adopted daughter of French General Jacques de Guillebon. They began their collaboration in 1961 and settled in New York in 1964.
The seven-year period spent in Paris (1958-1964) is essential for Christo. This intense period of creation appears today as fundamental in his artistic gesture. In 1961, Christo and Jeanne-Claude start to conceive interventions at the city’s scale, from the Iron Curtain project, rue Visconti realized in 1962 to the Pont-Neuf Wrapped, which took ten years to realize from 1975 to 1985.
Their projects for the City of Light include:
After studying at the Fine Arts Academy in Sofia, Christo decided to leave communist Bulgaria in 1957 and settled in Paris in 1958, attracted to the city’s aura and its dynamic art scene. A few months after his arrival, he met Jeanne-Claude, the adopted daughter of French General Jacques de Guillebon. They began their collaboration in 1961 and settled in New York in 1964.
The seven-year period spent in Paris (1958-1964) is essential for Christo. This intense period of creation appears today as fundamental in his artistic gesture. In 1961, Christo and Jeanne-Claude start to conceive interventions at the city’s scale, from the Iron Curtain project, rue Visconti realized in 1962 to the Pont-Neuf Wrapped, which took ten years to realize from 1975 to 1985.
Their projects for the City of Light include:
- Project for Wrapping of the École Militaire, 1961.
- Wall of Oil Barrels - The Iron Curtain, Rue Visconti, 1961-62 (realized).
- Project for Wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe, 1962.
- Wrapped Statue, Place du Trocadéro, 1964 (realized).
- Project for Wrapped Statue of Louis XIII, Place des Vosges, 1967.
- 112 Oil Barrels Structure, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 1968 (realized).
- Wrapped Trees (Project for Avenue des Champs Elysées and Rond-Point des Champs Elysées in Paris), 1969.
- Wrapped Bridge, Project for the Pont Alexandre III, 1972.
- Wrapped Staircase, Rue de Paradis – Yvon Lambert, Paris, 1972 (realized).
- The Pont-Neuf Wrapped, 1975-1985 (realized).
- Wall of Oil Barrels - The Iron Curtain, Rue Visconti, 1961-62 (realized).
- Project for Wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe, 1962.
- Wrapped Statue, Place du Trocadéro, 1964 (realized).
- Project for Wrapped Statue of Louis XIII, Place des Vosges, 1967.
- 112 Oil Barrels Structure, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 1968 (realized).
- Wrapped Trees (Project for Avenue des Champs Elysées and Rond-Point des Champs Elysées in Paris), 1969.
- Wrapped Bridge, Project for the Pont Alexandre III, 1972.
- Wrapped Staircase, Rue de Paradis – Yvon Lambert, Paris, 1972 (realized).
- The Pont-Neuf Wrapped, 1975-1985 (realized).
Their work is represented in museums and galleries worldwide, including the MoMA, the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Tate Gallery in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
From Christo’s first wrapped objects to monumental outdoor temporary projects of the artists’ duo, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s artworks transcends the traditional bounds of painting, sculpture, and architecture.
