christo – wrapped trees – photos by peter gartmann 1998 – christo and jeanne-claude – wrapped trees – fondation beyeler – susanne minder collection – copyright photos © peter gartmann + sabina roth

christo – wrapped trees – photos by peter gartmann

copyright photos   ©   peter gartmann + sabina roth

Christo – magician of contemporary art

After 32 years of preliminary work, Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped 178 trees between November 13 and December 14, 1998 in Riehen in the „Berower Park“ near the Fondation Beyeler. The covering material used was 55,000 square meters of shimmering silver-grey polyester fabric.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude succeeded in breaking through the narrow confines of the art world and attracting a broad public to their spectacular large-scale projects. They are among the greatest magicians in the history of contemporary art – they have made millions of people see the world anew through the eyes of artists.

„Beauty, science and art will always triumph.“ – Christo

As early as 1920, the surrealist, painter, photographer and object artist Man Ray wrapped and tied up a sewing machine and called the artwork „The Enigma of Isidore Ducasse“. The wrapped object did not remain an isolated case in Man Ray’s work, he dealt – again and again with the theme of packaging, wrapping and hidden.

In Paris in the 1960s, Christo experimented along these lines; wrapping and tying up objects in paper or fabric to give them a new, mysterious dimension. Of greater importance to the artist than the content was the tactile structure of the artworks. Christo also impregnated the various fabrics with colorless varnish, giving them a permanent form.

He created his first urban installation in 1962 in response to the construction of the Berlin Wall the year before. He blocked the very narrow Rue Visconti in Paris with more than 90 empty oil drums, which he piled up to form an „Iron Wall.“

For Christo personally, the most important of his major projects was the 1985 wrapping of Paris‘ oldest bridge, Pont Neuf. In doing so, he wanted to turn the structure, which was built at the end of the 16th century and had served as a „model“ for paintings by famous painters countless times over the centuries, into a work of art itself.

„As an artist, I don’t justify myself. Everything I create as an artist is meaningless and useless. I create things that have no function in the strict sense, except perhaps to give pleasure.“ – Christo

living landscapes around the world

„Veiling in order to reveal,“ is how the action artist described his art. Since the sixties, Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude have created living landscapes all over the world.

No one was left untouched by their art actions, which were staged like happenings: Thousands of colorful parasols „The Umbrellas“ in Japan and California, pink islands „Surrounded Islands“ in Miami, „Wrapped Trees“ or orange gates „The Gates“ in the middle of New York.

„The work of art is a scream of freedom.“ – Christo