PARIS.- Starting in September, Paris will pay tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude, as part of the 40th anniversary of The Pont Neuf Wrapped. An outdoor exhibition will be set up on the banks of the river Seine, and an iconic square will be named after the artist couple. In the summer of 2026, the artist JR will present a project inspired by Christo and Jeanne-Claude that will once again transform the oldest bridge in Paris.

From September 6 to October 30, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation will present Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Paris Projects, with the support of the City of Paris. This free outdoor exhibition installed on the banks of the river Seine (quai de la Mégisserie beneath the Pont Neuf), will trace the powerful bond between the artists and the French capital throughout their career.

Paris was the starting point of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's shared life and artistic practice. It is also the city where they carried out the greatest number of projects: Wall of Oil Barrels - The Iron Curtain, 1961-1962 ; Wrapped Statue, Trocadero, 1964 ; The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975-1985 ; L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, Paris, 1961-2021.

Christo arrived in Paris in March 1958 and quickly fell in love with the city that would shape his and Jeanne-Claude's shared vision. To support himself, he painted classical portraits of wealthy society ladies, signing them only with his family name, “Javacheff.”

However, in the privacy of his studio, influenced by the progressive Parisian art scene, Christo began to “appropriate” everyday objects, divesting them of their function and preserving them for posterity by wrapping them. This led to his first major bodies of work: Wrapped Cans, Wrapped Bottles, and Packages—series in which he explored concealment, transformation, and materiality, themes that would define the monumental projects that he later created with Jeanne-Claude.

The exhibition will explore Christo and Jeanne-Claude's monumental artworks conceived for the French capital — both realized and unrealized.

This was the case for Empaquetage de l’École Militaire (1961), a deeply personal project for Jeanne-Claude, whose stepfather, General Jacques de Guillebon, was stationed there. This intervention would have wrapped the vast 18th-century military school with 10,000 square meters of tarpaulin and over 200,000 meters of rope and cable.

Other unexecuted ideas include l’Empaquetage de Louis XII, Monument (1967), conceived for the Festival du Marais, which would have wrapped the central equestrian statue in Paris’s oldest planned square. Wrapped Trees, Project for the Champs-Élysées (1969), a luminous Christmas season, would have transformed the avenue’s chestnut trees into glowing sculptures that reflected the winter light.

Wrapped Bridge (Project for “Le Pont Alexandre III”, Paris) (1972) reminds that before choosing the Pont Neuf, Christo and Jeanne-Claude considered wrapping this ornate Belle Époque bridge. Ultimately, they deemed it too refined and delicate for their concept—an artistic decision that reflects their deep sensitivity to architectural form.

“Christo and Jeanne-Claude lived for their projects, and the exhibition highlights how much Paris was instrumental for them,” said Vladimir Yavachev, nephew and director of projects of the artist couple. “Presented with an audio guide on the Bloomberg Connects app, the exhibition reflects their artistic legacy. A very special thank you to the city of Paris, a bold leader in culture, for making it possible.”

To complement the exhibition on the banks of the Seine, an audio-guide available on the free Bloomberg Connects app, will provide additional content. Visitors will be able to access it via QR codes throughout the exhibition. Those unable to visit in person will also be able to explore it remotely.

Forty years ago, Christo and Jeanne-Claude realized The Pont Neuf Wrapped

In September 2025, Paris will celebrate 40 years since Christo and Jeanne-Claude transformed the city’s iconic Pont Neuf into a monumental work of art. From September 22 to October 5, 1985, the oldest bridge in Paris was wrapped in 41,800 square meters of fabric, secured with 13 kilometers of rope and 12 tons of steel cables, thanks to the expertise of 12 engineers and 300 specialized workers who worked with the artists.

“I wanted to transform it, to turn it from an architectural object, an object of inspiration for artists, to an art object itself.”, Christo explained at the time. “I wanted it to become a sculpture for the first time, but an ephemeral one”.

The project, conceived by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1975, required a decade of technical planning and negotiations with authorities before coming to life. Over a two week period, three million visitors experienced The Pont Neuf Wrapped, free to interpret its meaning in their own way—a principle central to Christo and Jeanne Claude’s artistic vision.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude give their name to an iconic Parisian square

To honor the artist couple and their monumental projects in the French capital, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo proposed naming a prominent square after them. The city council unanimously approved and the square surrounding the statue of Henri IV on the Pont Neuf will be renamed: Place du Pont Neuf - Christo et Jeanne-Claude.

The inauguration will take place in autumn (exact date to be announced). The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation would like to thank the Mayor of Paris as well as the elected members of the city council for this decision, which honors the vision and legacy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Projet Pont Neuf imagined by JR as a tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude expected to be presented in summer 2026

Projet Pont Neuf, a temporary work of art conceived by JR is expected to be on view in summer 2026. The monumental artwork will pay tribute to Christo and Jeanne Claude's The Pont Neuf Wrapped, 1975-1985 and provide a time-limited opportunity for Parisians and visitors to experience a reimagination of Paris’ oldest bridge.

JR and his team, in coordination with the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, have been thoughtfully planning and working with local officials on Projet Pont Neuf. The artwork will be funded privately, not with government sources.

JR’s vision emphasizes the origins of Paris’ historic architecture, inspired by the quarries from which the city’s stones were extracted. As the Seine becomes swimmable again and nature reclaims its place in the urban landscape, Projet Pont Neuf will juxtapose the raw and untamed with the refined elegance of Paris, creating a dialogue between past and present.