‘To be a visual artist is not a profession – it is existence … Jeanne-Claude says, “Artists do not retire, they simply die.” It’s not a profession, it’s existence, you know? You exist through art.’ – Christo

Christo Vladimirov Javacheff was born in 1935 in Bulgaria. He worked collaboratively with his wife, Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, from 1961 until her death in 2009. Their large-scale installations and monumental sculptures are recognised as some of the most pioneering accomplishments in early site-specific art. Christo’s first Wrapped Objects (1958-69) were the forerunner to some of their most infamous and recognisable projects, which became more and more advanced in scale and in complexity. Wrapping objects stripped them of their usual identity and functionality, turning them into abstract forms. This allowed the artists to explore concepts of concealment and revelation, surface and structure, and the nature of the objects themselves, creating new ways of seeing and experiencing the world, engaging the public, and transforming the environment through bold, temporary artistic interventions.