Christo
1935–2020
Born in Bulgaria, Christo (Javacheff) studied fine art in Sofia and then briefly in Prague and Vienna before moving to Paris, where he would meet his wife and longtime collaborator, Jeanne-Claude (Denat de Guillebon), in 1958. Rejecting the theoretical emphases of then-current abstraction for an art grounded in real objects, Christo began to wrap everyday items such as tin cans and furniture in cloth and string, and later in translucent plastic. Package on Hand Truck replaces the pedestal of traditional, static sculpture with an ordinary upright moving dolly. Despite the commonplace materials it uses—tarpaulin and rope—the work strikes a mysterious note, as the contents under wraps remain forever unknown.
For Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the act of wrapping became an undertaking of monumental scale and scope, and for nearly four decades they staged large, site-specific, temporary interventions in both natural and built environments. They wrapped islands, coastlines, and architectural landmarks (including the Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin) and installed fences, curtains, and umbrellas in various locations all over the world. These bureaucratically and logistically complex projects, often years in the making, were conceived and visualized in preparatory drawings and collages made by Christo. The Gates, Project for Central Park, New York City anticipates one of the pair’s most ambitious efforts: the installation, for sixteen days in February 2005, of seventy-five hundred square gateways, each sixteen feet tall and hung with saffron-colored nylon panels, spread over twenty-three miles of footpaths in Central Park. First conceived in 1979, The Gates was a massive endeavor; the collage reveals the engineering intricacies of a single gate as well as the extent to which gates blanketed the park.
Introduction
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020; Bulgarian: Христо Владимиров Явашев) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, often large landmarks and landscape elements wrapped in fabric, including the Wrapped Reichstag, The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Running Fence in California, and The Gates in New York City's Central Park.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude were both born on June 13, 1935, in Bulgaria and Morocco, respectively. The pair met and married in Paris in the late 1950s. Originally working under Christo's name, they later credited their installations to both "Christo and Jeanne-Claude". Until his own death in 2020, Christo continued to plan and execute projects after Jeanne-Claude's death in 2009.
Their work was typically large, visually impressive, and controversial, often taking years and sometimes decades of careful preparation – including technical solutions, political negotiation, permitting and environmental approval, hearings and public persuasion. The pair refused grants, scholarships, donations or public money, instead financing the work via the sale of their own artwork. Christo stated in 2018, “I studied Karl Marx in school and, though I may be anti-corporation, I am not anti-capitalist – in fact, we work closely with banks; Citibank, Credit Suisse, so many others.”
Christo and Jeanne-Claude described the myriad elements that brought the projects to fruition as integral to the artwork itself, and said their projects contained no deeper meaning than their immediate aesthetic impact; their purpose being simply for joy, beauty, and new ways of seeing the familiar.
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Accessed July 16, 2026.
Introduction
Bulgarian-born, but American citizen from 1973. Known for his 'empaquetage' (packaging) in which objects or buildings are wrapped. His ambitious projects include wrapping the Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin. Also known for his landscape projects such as the "Running Fence" in California. Creates large-scale installation pieces with his wife, Jeanne-Claude.
Country of birth
Bulgaria
Roles
Artist, architect, conceptual artist, environmental artist, installation artist, multimedia artist, painter, sculptor
ULAN identifier
500115266
Names
Christo, Christo Javacheff, Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Javaceff Christo, Vladimirov Javacheff Christo, Javacheff Christo, Christo Javatcheff, Christ Javačev, Christo Javačev, Christo Wladimirow Jawatscheff, C. Mavromichali, יאוואצ'ף כריסטו, كريستو،
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed July 16, 2026.
