Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City
Presented by the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation and The Shed, Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies
About this Exhibition
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City, opening February 12, 2025, marks the 20th anniversary of The Gates, the artists’ monumental work of temporary public art. Installed in Central Park in February 2005, the artwork consisted of 7,503 saffron-colored gates adorned with free-flowing fabric that spanned 23 miles of pathways and transformed the iconic park. This immersive exhibition at The Shed, which includes an augmented reality component, brings the spirit and vision of Christo and Jeanne-Claude to life. It offers visitors an unprecedented opportunity to explore the couple’s artistic journey, rekindling memories for those who witnessed The Gates and unveiling hidden stories for new audiences.
The first part of the exhibition, dedicated to The Gates, includes original artworks by Christo, such as drawings, scale models, and components from the Central Park installation itself, as well as photographs and videos. The exhibition includes a virtual, animated model of The Gates on a large-scale map of the original project location, designed by technology studios Dirt Empire and Pixels Pixels. These elements guide visitors through the 25-year journey of negotiations and planning that culminated in the final project’s realization.
The second part showcases a selection of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s visionary proposals for New York City that, though never realized, reveal the duo’s ambitious and innovative spirit and their deep connection to the city they called home from 1964 until their deaths. For the first time in the United States, these works will be presented through scale models and digital reproductions of Christo’s drawings, offering a glimpse into the creative processes behind the duo’s large-scale public art projects.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City is curated by Pascal Roulin.
Tickets
Free tickets will be available early next year. For updates, join our mailing list.
To access the exhibition’s digital guide, visitors are encouraged to download the Bloomberg Connects app from Google Play or the App Store before visiting.
Digital Guide & Augmented Reality Experience
A digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects app features additional audio, video, and text content related to the exhibition. Additionally, in partnership with the Central Park Conservancy and New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the exhibition is complemented by an interactive, augmented reality experience of The Gates in Central Park, accessible through Bloomberg Connects on a mobile device. Visitors to the park between February 12 and March 23 (the same dates as the exhibition) will be able to view roughly five percent of the original installation through the app.
Download Bloomberg Connects from Google Play or the App Store before your visit to The Shed and Central Park.
About the Artists
Christo and Jeanne-Claude were born on the same day: June 13, 1935—he in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, and she in Casablanca, Morocco. Jeanne-Claude passed away in 2009, and Christo died in 2020, both in New York City, where they had moved in 1964. Christo and Jeanne-Claude realized monumental projects around the world, including Wrapped Coast, One Million Square Feet, Little Bay, Sydney, 1968–69; Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972–76; Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, 1980–83; The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975–85; The Umbrellas, Japan–USA, 1984–91; Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971–95; The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979–2005; The Floating Piers, Lake Iseo, Italy, 2014–16; The London Mastaba, Serpentine Lake, Hyde Park, 2016–18; and L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, Paris, 1961–2021.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude worked together since their first outdoor temporary work of art: Stacked Oil Barrels and Dockside Packages, Cologne Harbor, Germany, 1961. Before he escaped to the West, Christo studied painting, sculpture, architecture, and decorative arts at the National Academy of Art in Sofia for four years. All early works, such as Wrapped Cans, Wrapped Oil Barrels, Packages, Wrapped Objects, and Store Fronts, as well as all preparatory drawings, collages, and scale models are works by Christo only. All public projects and indoor installations, both realized and unrealized, are collaborative works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Location and dates
February 12 – March 23, 2025
The Shed is located at 545 West 30th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. View The Shed on a map.
For information about accessibility and arriving at The Shed, visit our Accessibility page.
Accessibility
The Shed’s Level 4 Gallery is wheelchair accessible.
If you have any questions or requests, please email info@theshed.org or call (646) 455-3494. For information about accessibility and arriving at The Shed, visit our Accessibility page.
Thank you to our partners
The creation of new work at The Shed is generously supported by the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Commissioning Fund and the Shed Commissioners.
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