Christo (1935-2020) and Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009)

Christo and Jeanne-Claude were internationally renowned artists best known for their monumental environmental artworks that transformed landscapes, buildings, and public spaces through temporary interventions. Born on the same day in 1935, Christo in Bulgaria and Jeanne-Claude in Morocco, the pair formed a lifelong personal and artistic partnership, working collaboratively from the late 1950s onward.

Their practice involved wrapping, enclosing, draping, or temporarily altering familiar sites using fabric, rope, and industrial materials. Iconic projects include Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin, The Gates in New York’s Central Park, Running Fence in California, and Wrapped Coast in Australia. These works were characterised by their ambitious scale, extensive planning processes, and limited duration, often existing for only days or weeks.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude financed all their projects independently through the sale of preparatory drawings, collages, and models, ensuring complete artistic freedom. Central to their philosophy was the idea of ephemerality: the artworks left no physical trace, existing only in memory and documentation. Together, they reshaped how art could engage with the public realm, emphasising experience, freedom, and the transformative power of temporary beauty.