“Works on paper can be a combination of photographs, fragments of other projects, technical information… […] the drawings reflect the evolution of the project. It doesn’t emerge from my thoughts ‘fully equipped.” - Christo
Perez Art Museum Miami has an ongoing exhibition featuring artworks by established artist Christo, since August 19, 2022. The immaculate works gifted to PAMM by Maria Bechily and Scott Hodes, Christo’s lifelong friends, which showcase methods of artistic process and drawing traditions.
The exhibition consists of conceived and realized projects on the American landscape, featuring characteristic drawings that demonstrates Christo’s iconic and monumental installations that were co-authored by his wife and artistic collaborated Jeanne-Claude. The works on paper evince the duo’s boundless impact on the history of art since the mid-20th century. In thoughtfully selected outdoor locations, they designed large-scale, public art projects involving considerable interventions. Christo and Jeanne-Claude were pioneers in expanding the understanding of art beyond classic mediums such as paintings and sculpture, visualizing a democratic art form breaking the boundaries in hopes of addressing audiences across a full spectrum of society. Often by use of techniques of draping, wrapping or surrounding vast areas of existing landscapes with meticulously manipulated fabric, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s intend to convey a new appreciation of the natural world and built environment through adapted visual and physical experiences of the sites.
The works on paper are considered fine examples of Christo’s drawing practice that is deemed a crucial aspect of his production process. In protest of traditional funding structures of art, Christo and Jean- Claude refused all financial support from institutions, single patrons, foundations and governments, favouring funding their large-scale projects through direct sales of drawing such as these. The exemplifying aspects of the drawings are the spectacular overview of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s oeuvre, culminating their major projects spanning from the late 1960s to the early 2000s.
From the initial illustrations to the final detailed works, Christo’s drawings portray the evolution of a notion and constitutes what Christo referred to as the “growing process”. “Works on paper can be a combination of photographs, fragments of other projects, technical information… […] the drawings reflect the evolution of the project. It doesn’t emerge from my thoughts ‘fully equipped”. Christo’s drawings reflect decades of research and culminated understanding around visualizing and creating these spectacular, historic projects.
Christos Drawings: A Gift from the Maria Bechily and Scott Hodes Collection is on view from August 19, 2022 through June 11, 2023
