Known collectively as “Christo” until 1994, when their works were retroactively credited to both artists, Christo Javacheff and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon created large-scale environmental works—both indoors and outdoors—that altered familiar landmarks and spaces. Primarily working with silken fabrics, Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin and the Pont-Neuf Bridge in Paris, as well as other monuments and trees, in vibrant drapes. In 2005 they created a work known as The Gates in New York City’s Central Park, composed of 7,503 vinyl gates installed sequentially in the park and hung with saffron-colored swathes of nylon, which alluded to the tradition of Japanese torii gates placed at the entrances to Shinto shrines. Speaking of the ephemeral nature of their work, Christo once said, “I think it takes much greater courage to create things to be gone than to create things that will remain.”

Christo is best known for monumental collaborations with his late partner Jeanne-Claude. The duo’s projects, such as The Gates in Central Park and Wrapped Reichstag intervened in public spaces in order to draw attention to them. “We borrow space and create gentle disturbances for a few days,” Christo once said. “We inherit everything that is inherent in the space to become part of the work of art. All our projects are like fabulous expeditions.” Since Jeanne-Claude’s passing, Christo has worked to complete unrealized projects such as Over The River, a miles-long stretch of fabric that would function as a canopy over the Arkansas River. In gallery spaces, Christo presents schematic drawings of the duo’s work, which exhibit the artist’s technical mastery and undergird their massive installations, connecting the big ideas to their inception as free-floating thoughts.