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
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 April 29, 2025.
