BURLINGTON, VT.- The University of Vermont's Fleming Museum opened a special exhibition featuring original drawings, sculptures, and collages by the celebrated artistic duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude. In addition to bringing this retrospective of their careers to Burlington, the Museum will also offer a unique opportunity to hear the artist Christo lecture about past and current projects.

On Sunday, September 26 at 4:00PM, the Museum will welcome the artist Christo to its auditorium stage for a special lecture, titled, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude - Two Works in Progress: Over the River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado, and The Mastaba, Project for the United Arab Emirates."
A reception will follow in the Museum's Marble Court.

Opened on Tuesday, September 21, the exhibition, Christo and Jeanne Claude: The Tom Golden Collection includes over 125 original works and photographs that trace the artists' impressive careers from 1972 to the present. "This is an extraordinary opportunity for our community to experience one of the most engaged, and engaging artists of our time," said Fleming Museum director Janie Cohen, "In the course of realizing their remarkable projects around the world over the last 35 years, Christo and his late partner Jeanne-Claude have accomplished phenomenal feats of engineering, negotiation, and, above all, stunning beauty."

The collection, assembled by long-time friend and associate Tom Golden, captures the versatility, longevity, and international scope of Christo's and the late Jeanne-Claude's work. Drawings and collages of the large-scale public works, sold to fund the actual installations, are an important component of this collection. The projects include Running Fence, Surrounded Islands, The Pont Neuf Wrapped and Wrapped Reichstag, among many others. There are also a multitude of smaller projects represented in original drawings, from the whimsical Package on Radio Flyer Wagon to the haunting Wrapped Woman.

In 2001 Golden donated his collection of works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude to the Sonoma County Museum in Santa Rosa, California. Golden's personal and professional relationship with the artists began when he met them during the 1974 public hearings for their project Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin counties, 1972-1976. Golden went on to manage or assist with a number of the artists' large-scale projects including The Umbrellas, Joint Project for Japan and the USA, 1984-1991 and, more recently, the as-yet unrealized Over the River, Project for the Arkansas River. Unique to Golden's collection are some small, poignant pieces made especially for him by Christo, including a wrapped bouquet of flowers. Actively engaged with the art he so loved for nearly 30 years, Golden passed away at his home in late 2002.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Tom Golden Collection was organized by the Sonoma County Museum from their collection and the tour is being organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, California. The exhibition will be on view through December 18, 2010.