KÜNZELSAU.- Be it the wrapped Berlin Reichstag, the saffron-colored Gates in New York’s Central Park or the magic they did to Pont Neuf in Paris: With their monumental temporary installations, artist couple Christo (1935-2020) and Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009) shaped the collective visual memory of millions of people worldwide. Starting on 11 November 2024, Museum Würth in Künzelsau will showcase the exhibition “Wrapped, tied, stacked. Christo and Jeanne-Claude”, an extensive cross-section of 60 years of their creative work that covers all phases of their oeuvre.

The exhibition will show some 120 original collages, drawings, models, photographs and videos from the Würth Collection.

The exhibition takes place on the occasion of the artist couple’s 90th birthday; both were born on 13 June 1935. In addition, they had a very personal relationship with the collector Reinhold Würth, which resulted in two artistic projects: the transformation of Museum Würth in Künzelsau into a walk-in interior installation in 1995, and the wrapping of a seven-meter-long hornbeam for the Würth Collection in 2011.

Christo started altering objects in Paris in 1958. He wrapped cans and bottles, built first installations with barrels and transformed everyday objects into sculptures. The exhibition shows many of his top-notch early works that already impressively demonstrate Christo’s artistic idea: wrapping familiar things to allow for new perspectives on them and make room for new interpretations. Starting in the 1960s, the artist couple had become increasingly successful in doing that in both urban and rural areas.

What unites many of their projects is fabric as a medium, whether it folds around buildings, rocks or trees as an outer shell, serves as a pink surrounding of entire islands off Miami or highlights floating platforms on Lake Iseo in bright yellow. Stacked oil barrels are another recurring theme in the work of the artist duo. An important aspect in Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s art is transcience. Their installations are limited in time and create unique images that are elusive in nature, changing what already exists, but is now perceived anew. On the other hand, the master drawings, collages and models Christo makes in preparation remain preserved. Their sale guaranteed the artist couple independence and freedom in their implementation by financing even the most complex projects themselves. The Würth Collection contains one of the largest collections of works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude worldwide, which comprises more than 130 original works, rounded off by more than 30 photographs by Harry Shunk and Wolfgang Volz.

Entrepreneur and collector Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth maintained a friendship with the artist couple. He recalled: “Our first contact was in Hamburg in 1994, and we instantly connected. In the course of the many meetings with Christo and Jeanne-Claude, we first became acquaintances and then a close friendship developed; our encounters in Hong Kong, New York and many European cities were an enrichment for me and my understanding of art. For me, the highlight of the artistic creation of Christo and Jeanne-Claude was clearly the wonderful wrapping of the Reichstag building in Berlin. Few visual artists moved an entire population to the extent Christo and Jeanne-Claude succeeded in doing so in Berlin in 1995.”

In her contribution to the exhibition catalog, published by Swiridoff Verlag, the then President of the German Parliament and politician Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth wrote: “For me, it was a political project that not only bore grandness, but also had its own, peaceful message to Berlin and the world. This was not aggressive Germany. It was a message of art and culture that shone into the world. And another aspect of this type of art is special: It seems transient, it does not belong to anybody. This type of art can only be experienced if you see it with your own eyes. Christo and Jeanne-Claude attached great importance to this “democratic” aspect of their art. In addition, they always recycled their materials used.”

C. Sylvia Weber, Director of the Würth Collection and joint curator along with Kirsten Fiege, said about the exhibition: “Christo and Jeanne-Claude undoubtedly shifted the dimension of what had been conceivable as a work of art until then. Their boldness to wrap a building or monument, or surround an entire coast, did not change the world, but how we see it. To this day, we are still puzzled if familiar objects are wrapped or only altered by Christo, to escape our gaze. His early sculptures in the Würth Collection offer an opportunity to feel this. The second skin he put over the objects triggers our imagination. The large-scale projects designed with Jeanne-Claude, on the other hand, were always a celebration of the moment.”