Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeSurrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida1980-1983
1980-1983
About the Item
- Creator:Christo and Jeanne-Claude (1935 - 2020, Bulgarian, Moroccan, American)
- Creation Year:1980-1983
- Dimensions:Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Framing:Framing Options Available
- Condition:Minute Storage Marks Consistent With Age.
- Gallery Location:Kansas City, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU608314336582
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Motivated solely by a mission to spread joy and celebrate beauty through their work, Christo and Jeanne-Claude (1935–2020; 1935–2009) created riveting large-scale public art installations that pushed ephemeral art to an entirely unprecedented new level. While the pair created prints, photography and a range of other types of art, they’re best known for their installations — working with a combination of textiles and industrial materials, Christo and Jeanne-Claude created colossal site-specific sculptures and other projects that frequently included wrapping monuments, walkways and even coastlines in reams of fabric in order to draw attention and encourage viewers to experience familiar objects and places in entirely new ways.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude frequently incorporated nature’s forces into their works, creating billowing fence lines, enormous inflatable free-standing structures and colorful floating walkways. Partners in life and art, the pair designed installations that often took years or even decades to realize and lasted for only days or weeks. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s preparatory works and detailed drawings and collages are today a testament to their intricate ephemeral masterpieces and legacy.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s stories, incredibly, began on the exact same day — on June 13, 1935, Christo Vladimirov Javacheff was born in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, and on the very same day in Casablanca, Morocco, Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon was born. While Jeanne-Claude received a broad education and a baccalauréat in Latin and philosophy, growing up in France, Switzerland, Morocco and Tunisia, Christo studied art from the age of six years old. He went on to study painting, drawing, architecture and sculpture at the National Academy of Art in Sofia before leaving Bulgaria to escape the Hungarian Revolution.
Christo spent time in Prague before a brief stint at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, moving on then to Geneva and ultimately France. He made money by painting portraits for wealthy families. After being hired by Jeanne-Claude’s mother to paint three portraits of her, Christo met his future wife and collaborator. The pair created their first environmental installation, Dockside Packages and Stacked Oil Barrels, in 1961.
Together, Christo and Jeanne-Claude pursued increasingly ambitious projects, proposing to wrap everything from trees in Wrapped Trees, Foundation Beyeler and Berower Park, Riehen, Switzerland, 1997-98 to important public buildings including the Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971–95. They also created free-standing abstract sculptures such as the 5,600 Cubicmeter Package, billowing curtains such as Valley Curtain, Rifle, Colorado, 1970–72, and proposed installations in locations as far-flung as Dubai and Japan. These projects and others have been linked to the Pop art-adjacent nouveau réalisme movement.
Classically trained in drawing, Christo created preparatory sketches and collages for the projects, selling his artwork to independently fund the monumental temporary installations the pair erected. Meanwhile, Jeanne-Claude advocated for the pair’s artwork, speaking at public forums, sending proposals to municipal governments, and using her unique combination of compelling charm and stoic stubbornness to get their projects approved.
Devoted to their ideals of spreading joy and beauty, the pair accepted no commissions or commercial collaborations — all their installations were funded purely by the sale of their preparatory art. The last of their realized urban works, that 2005 project invited New Yorkers to go for a glorious walk through 7,503 saffron-fabric-draped portals along the pathways of Central Park. More than 4 million people did.
Christo’s wrapped sculptures, which he began making early in his career, as well as his preparatory works, are held in the permanent collections of museums and other institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Centre Pompidou. Jeanne-Claude died in 2009, and Christo continued to realize the pair’s planned projects until his own passing in 2020.
Find original Christo and Jeanne-Claude photography, mixed media works, sculptures and prints on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Kansas City, MO
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 10 days of delivery.
- The Wall-Wrapped Roman Wall, Rome, 1974 (Installation, Public Art, Wrapped Art)By Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLocated in Kansas City, MOChristo & Jeanne Claude The Wall-Wrapped Roman Wall, Rome, 1974 Offset Lithograph After a photograph by Foto Harry Shunk, 1974 Size: 25.2×37.4in Pub...Category
1970s Modern Landscape Prints
MaterialsOffset, Lithograph
- The Pont Neuf Wrapped, 1975-85By Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLocated in Kansas City, MOChristo and Jeanne-Claude The Pont Neuf Wrapped, 1975-85 Photo: Jeanne-Claude, 1976 Year: 1991 Size: 24.1 x 36.6 inches Unsigned COA provided --------------...Category
1990s Modern Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Offset, Cardboard
- Untitled (Geometric Composition, Vasarely, Op-Art) (~38% OFF)Located in Kansas City, MONikolaus von Georgi Untitled (Geometric Composition, Vasarely, Op-Art) Color Offset Lithograph Year: 1978 Size: 19.7×23.6 on 23.6×27.6in Edition: 180 Signed, numbered and dated by ...Category
1970s Op Art Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- Wrapped Walk Ways, Loose Park, Kansas City (large-scale, site-specific install)By Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLocated in Kansas City, MOChristo and Jeanne-Claude Wrapped Walk Ways, Loose Park, Kansas City, Missouri, 1977-78 Photo: Jeanne-Claude, 1978 Year: 1991 Publisher: Poligrafa Size: 25.47 x 37.3 inches Unsigned ...Category
1990s Modern Landscape Prints
MaterialsOffset
- Romantische Reisende IIILocated in Kansas City, MOBele Bachem Romantische Reisende III Lithograph on Velum Year: 1967 Size: 19.25x25.5in Signed, dated and inscribed by hand Edition: 150 Publisher: Edition ...Category
1960s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsVellum, Lithograph
- La Barque Echouee (Mourlot, Paris)By Andre MinauxLocated in Kansas City, MOAndre Minaux La Barque Echouee 1964 Original Color Lithograph on Velin d'Arches Size: 10x7.375in Edition: 2,000 Annotated verso Unsigned as issued Publisher: Mourlot, Paris Printer: ...Category
1960s Modern Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph, Vellum
- William Eggleston The Democratic Forest Selected Works (Hand signed)By William EgglestonLocated in New York, NYWilliam Eggleston William Eggleston The Democratic Forest Selected Works (Hand signed), 2016 Hardback monograph with dust jacket Hand signed by William Eggleston...Category
2010s Modern More Art
MaterialsMixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
- Women The Sea and Solitude - offset lithograph posterBy Will BarnetLocated in New York, NYRare vintage poster from Will Barnet exhibition entitled "Women, the Sea and Solitude", Benjamin's Gallerie, Buffalo, NYCategory
1980s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- Waiting, Framed Print by Will BarnetBy Will BarnetLocated in Long Island City, NYWaiting from the Kent Bicentennial Portfolio Will Barnet, American (1911–2012) Date: 1975 Offset Lithograph (unsigned) Image Size: 11.25 x 11 inches Size: 17 x 14 in. (43.18 x 35.56 ...Category
1970s American Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsOffset, Lithograph
- Against Apartheid - Africa, Light, NightBy Julio Le ParcLocated in Köln, DEThis work by Le Parc from 1983 is part of the portfolio "Against Apartheid". In this year, many renowned artists decided to create a portfolio of printmaking works to set a sign against the Apartheid. There was also a touring exhibition. The complete project was supported by the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid. Please scroll through our seller storefront...Category
1980s Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- Italian Post Modern Pop Art Lithograph Vintage Poster Memphis Galerie MaeghtBy Valerio AdamiLocated in Surfside, FLVintage gallery exhibition poster. Navy blue and bold yellow stars with vibrant orange. Surrealist man in hat with scythe or fishing rod. The Galerie Maeght is a gallery of modern ar...Category
1980s Pop Art Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- The Umbrellas, Japan - USA (Hand Signed)By Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLocated in New York, NYChristo and Jeanne-Claude The Umbrellas, Japan - USA (Hand Signed), 1991 Offset lithograph poster Boldly signed by Christo upper right 25 × 38 inches Unframed This rare vintage poster was published by Christo and Jeanne-Claude to promote and raise funds for Christo's famous Umbrellas Japan-USA project in the early 1990s. It is hand signed boldly in black marker "Christo" on the recto - upper right corner. This work was acquired from the Estate of Jacob and Aviva Baal-Teshuva, collectors, curators, authors, early supporters and good friends of Christo. Authenticity unconditionally guaranteed. ABOUT THE UMBRELLAS JAPAN-USA PROJECT: At sunrise, on October 9, 1991, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 1,880 workers began to open the 3,100 umbrellas in Ibaraki and California, in the presence of the artists at both sites. This Japan-USA temporary work of art reflected the similarities and differences in the ways of life and the use of the land in two inland valleys, one 12 miles (19 kilometers) long in Japan, and the other 18 miles (29 kilometers) long in the USA. In Japan, the valley is located north of Hitachiota and south of Satomi, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Tokyo, around Route 349 and the Sato River, in the Prefecture of Ibaraki, on the properties of 459 private landowners and governmental agencies. In the USA, the valley is located 60 miles (96.5 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, along Interstate 5...Category
1990s Pop Art Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Offset