CHRISTO & JEANNE-CLAUDE A LIFE OF PROJECTS
STERN PISSARRO GALLERY
Front cover (detail): Surrounded Islands (Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida) p. 21
CHRISTO & JEANNE-CLAUDE A LIFE OF PROJECTS 20 June - 21 July 2018
STERN PISSARRO GALLERY 66 St James's Street London SW1A 1NE United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7629 6662 www.pissarro.art
We don’t have a philosophy of art. What is it that Christo and Jeanne-Claude do? We wish to create works of art, works of joy and of beauty. As with every true work of art, it has absolutely no purpose whatsoever: it is not a message, it is not a symbol, it is only a work of art. And like every true artist, we create those works of art for us and our collaborators.
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FOREWORD In 2018 London plays host to The Mastaba (Project for London, Hyde Park, Serpentine Lake), Christo’s ground-breaking installation and his first public outdoor project in the United Kingdom. Composed of 7,506 painted barrels, the trapezoidal structure will float temporarily on the surface of the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park. This Mastaba coincides with a Serpentine Gallery exhibition examining his extraordinary half-century collaboration with his late wife Jeanne-Claude. To compliment these events, we are pleased to present a special exhibition entitled Christo and Jeanne-Claude: A Life of Projects. The pioneering and distinctive work of contemporary environmental artists Christo (b. 1935) and Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009) has consistently delighted and thrilled admirers from across the world. Their innovative and ambitious work – made according to Christo entirely for pleasure - is famously monumental in scale and often both conceals and reveals ‘space’ in new and surprising ways. Temporary in nature, the projects are funded entirely by the artists through their sale of original works by Christo. Showcasing rare original works, our exhibition focuses on the artists' most famous projects, providing a unique opportunity to understand what Christo and Jeanne-Claude defined as their ‘software period’. Highlights include original works from their early Wrapped Objects series (1958-69) and their now-iconic wrapped buildings such as the Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin), 1995. Other highlights include works for the Surrounded Islands (Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida), 1983 that involved weaving walkways of synthetic pink fabric around 11 islands, Valley Curtain (Project for Colorado), 1971, Over the River (Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado), 1992, and Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy), 2016. Christo and Jeanne-Claude: A Life of Projects features major works taking us on a journey from their early experiments to the present day. Marking Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s legacy as one of the most influential artistic duos of the 20th and 21st century the exhibition highlights the artists' unique artistic language.
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Valley Curtain (Project for Colorado) Collage with coloured pencil, graphite, graph paper, photograph by Shunk-Kender and stapled fabric on board 71.1 x 56.6 cm (28 x 22 Âź inches) Signed and dated lower right, Christo 1971 and inscribed with technical notes 6
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Over the River (Project for Arkansas River, State of Colorado) Acrylic, pastel, wax crayon, graphite and charcoal with fabric and printed topographical map collage on board, in two parts 77.5 x 66.7 cm (30 ½ x 26 ¼ inches) 77.5 x 30.5 cm (30 ½ x 12 inches) Signed and dated lower left, Christo 1997, titled upper left Inscribed with technical notes throughout Signed, dated and inscribed on the reverse 8
Over the River (Project for Arkansas River State of Colorado) Wax crayon, graphite and charcoal on board 35 x 38.5 cm (13 ž x 15 inches) Signed and dated, Christo 1999, titled and inscribed with technical notes upper middle Signed, dated and inscribed on the reverse 9
Surrounded Islands (Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida) Pastel, enamel paint, wax crayon and graphite with fabric and printed paper collage, in two parts 56.7 x 72 cm (22 ³/₈ x 28 ³/₈ inches) 28.8 x 72 cm (11 ³/₈ x 28 ³/₈ inches) Signed and dated upper right, Christo 1981, titled upper middle and inscribed throughout Inscribed on the reverse 10
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The Umbrellas (Joint Project for Japan and USA) Acrylic, enamel paint, wax crayon and graphite with taped photograph collage on board 55.6 x 28 cm (21₇/₈ x 11 inches) Signed and dated lower right, Christo 1989, titled Inscribed with technical data throughout
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The Umbrellas (Joint Project for Japan and USA) Pastel, enamel paint, wax crayon, coloured pencil and graphite with fabric and map collage on board, in two parts 67.6 x 78.3 (26 ⁵/₈ x 30 ⁷/₈ inches) 67.6 x 31.2 (26 ⁵/₈ 12 ¹/₄ inches) Signed and dated lower left, Christo 1989, titled upper left Inscribed with technical data throughout 13
Over the River (Project for Arkansas River, State of Colorado) Pastel, enamel paint, wax crayon, graphite and charcoal with photograph overlaid with topographical map collage on board, in two parts 166.7 x 107.5 cm (65 ⅝ x 42 ⅜ inches) 166.7 x 39.6 cm (65 ⅝ x 15 ⅝ inches) Signed and dated lower left, Christo 2011, titled upper left Inscribed throughout with technical notes Signed, dated and inscribed on the reverse
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Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin) Pastel, wax crayon, coloured pencil and graphite with wire mounted fabric and printed map collage on board, in two parts 55.5 x 71 cm (21 â…ž x 28 inches) 27.5 x 71 cm (10 â…ž x 28 inches) Signed and dated upper left, Christo 1979, titled upper middle left Inscribed with technical notes throughout Inscribed on the reverse 16
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Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy) Coloured lithograph with collage of fabric sample, photograph, printed map and pencil on board 56.8 x 36.1 cm (22 ³/₈ x 14 ¹/₄ inches) Signed and numbered upper right, Christo 18/75, titled upper middle Inscribed with technical data throughout 18
Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy) Coloured lithograph with collage of fabric sample, photograph, printed map and pencil on board 56.8 x 36.1 cm (22 ³/₈ x 14 ¹/₄ inches) Signed and numbered upper right, Christo 4/75, titled upper middle Inscribed with technical data throughout 19
Surrounded Islands (Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida) Enamel paint, wax crayon and graphite with fabric and printed paper collage on board, in two parts 56.6 x 71.1 cm (22 x 28 inches) 28 x 71.1 cm (11 x 28 inches) Signed and dated, Christo 1983, titled upper middle Inscribed with technical data throughout Inscribed on the reverse
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Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin) Acrylic, coloured pencil and graphite with taped photograph by Wolfgang Volz and printed map collage on board 28.7 x 22.4 cm (11 Âź x 8 â…ž inches) Signed and dated lower right, Christo 1994, titled lower middle Inscribed with technical data on the upper margin Signed and dated on the reverse 22
Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin) Acrylic, pastel, coloured pencil and graphite with metallic fabric sample, photograph by Wolfgang Volz and printed map collage on board 36.1 x 28.5 (14 ¼ x 11 ¼ inches) Signed and dated, Christo 1986-94 and titled lower middle Inscribed with technical data on the upper margin Signed and dated on the reverse, © Christo 1994 23
Surrounded Islands (Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida) Pastel, wax crayon, coloured pencil, graphite and charcoal with printed map collage on board, in two parts 245.1 x 107.4 cm (96 ½ x 42 ¼ inches) 245.1 x 39.1 cm (96 ½ x 15 ⅜ inches) Signed and dated lower left, Christo 1981, titled upper left Inscribed with technical data throughout; inscribed on the reverse 24
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Packed Coast (Project for Australia, Near Sydney) Wax crayon, graphite, charcoal with taped photograph collage on board 94.1 x 128.5 cm (37 x 50 â…? inches) Signed and dated, Christo 1969 lower right, titled Inscribed throughout with technical data 26
Wrapped Trees (Project for Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park, Riehen, Switzerland) Wax crayon, coloured pencil and graphite on board 56.6 x 71.8 cm (22 ¹/₄ x 28 ¹/₄ inches) Signed and dated, Christo 1998 lower left, titled lower middle Inscribed with technical data on the upper margin Signed and dated on the reverse 27
Running Fence (Project for Sonoma and Marin Counties, California) Wax crayon, coloured pencil and graphite with printed map collage on board, in two parts 28 x 26.1 cm (11 x 10 Âź inches) 28 x 26.1 cm (11 x 10 Âź inches) Signed and dated, Christo 1976 and titled on the lower margin Inscribed on the reverse 28
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Wrapped Walkways (Project for St. Stephen’s Green Park, Dublin) Acrylic and coloured pencil with stapled fabric, photograph and printed map collage on board, in two parts 71.1 x 55.8 cm (28 x 22 inches) 71.1 x 55.8 cm (28 x 22 inches) Signed and dated upper right, Christo 1977, titled upper right and inscribed on the upper margin 30
Wrapped Magazines and Books Magazines and books wrapped with polyethylene and rope, mounted on black wooden board 22.5 x 29.5 x 14 cm (8 ⅞ x 11 ⅝ x 5 ½ inches) Executed in 1962 31
Wrapped Ground (Project for Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago) Fabric collage stapled to board with graphite 67.5 x 54.5 cm (26 � x 21 ½ inches) Signed and dated, Christo 1968 and titled lower left 32
Corridor Store Front (Project) Oil and pencil with cardboard and acetate collage on board 55.8 x 35.5 cm (22 x 14 inches) Signed and dated upper right, Christo 1566-67, titled and inscribed with technical data on the upper margin 33
Over the River (Project for Arkansas River, State of Colorado) Pastel, wax crayon, graphite and charcoal on board 56.8 x 72 cm (22 ⅜ x 28 ⅜ inches) Signed and dated, Christo 1996, titled upper left and inscribed throughout Signed, dated and dedicated, To Chris and Emel, Christo 2006 34
Valley Curtain (Project for Colorado) Acrylic, wax crayon, graphite and charcoal with stapled fabric and photograph by Shunk-Kender on board, in two parts 76.8 x 76.8 (30 ¼ x 30 ¼ inches) (photograph) 72 x 56.8 (28 ⅜ x 22 ⅜ inches) (artwork) Signed and dated, Christo 1972 and titled lower left Inscribed with technical data throughout 35
Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin) Acrylic, wax crayon, coloured pencil and graphite with taped photograph by Wolfgang Volz and printed map collage on board 36.3 x 56.6 cm (14 ¹/₄ x 22 ¹/₄ inches) Signed and dated lower right, Christo 1994, titled lower middle Inscribed with technical data on the upper margin 36
Over the River (Project for Arkansas River, State of Colorado) Acrylic, pastel, coloured pencil and graphite with photograph, printed map and kraft paper collage on board 36.2 x 28.5 cm (14 ¹/₄ x 11 ¹/₄ inches) Signed and dated lower middle right, Christo 1996, titled and inscribed with technical notes throughout Signed and dated on the reverse 37
Surrounded Islands (Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida) Fabric collage with pastel, enamel paint, graphite and charcoal on board, in two parts 56.6 x 71.8 (22 ¼ x 28 ¼ inches) 28.7 x 71.8 (11 ¼ x 28 ¼ inches) Signed and dated lower right, Christo 1982, titled on the lower margin Inscribed with technical data throughout Inscribed on the reverse 38
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STERN PISSARRO GALLERY 66 St James's Street London SW1A 1NE United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7629 6662 www.pissarro.art 40