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Lot Essay
This work will be included in the forthcoming Christo catalogue raisonné being prepared by Daniel Varenne, Geneva under no. 1119.
This work is a preparatory collage for the temporary artwork Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin) which was completed in June 1995 and lasted fourteen days.
On June 24th 1995 a crew of 90 professional climbers and 120 installation workers succeeded in wrapping the Reichstag, completing one of Christo's most acclaimed projects.
The Wrapped Reichstag represents not only 24 years of efforts in the lives of the artists, but also years of team work by its leading members Michael S. Cullen, Wolfgang and Sylvia Volz and Roland Specker.
Throughout the history of art, the use of fabric has been a fascination for artists. From the most ancient times to the present, fabric forming folds, pleats and draperies, is a significant part of paintings, frescoes, reliefs and sculptures made of wood, stone and bronze. The use of fabric for the Wrapped Reichstag follows this classical tradition. Fabric, like clothing or skin, is fragile, it translates the unique quality of impermanence. For a period of two weeks, the richness of the silvery fabric, shaped by the blue ropes, creates a sumptuous flow of vertical folds highlighting the features and proportions of the imposing structure, revealing the essence of the Reichstag (J.C. Christo and Christo, Press Release, June 1995).
This work is a preparatory collage for the temporary artwork Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin) which was completed in June 1995 and lasted fourteen days.
On June 24th 1995 a crew of 90 professional climbers and 120 installation workers succeeded in wrapping the Reichstag, completing one of Christo's most acclaimed projects.
The Wrapped Reichstag represents not only 24 years of efforts in the lives of the artists, but also years of team work by its leading members Michael S. Cullen, Wolfgang and Sylvia Volz and Roland Specker.
Throughout the history of art, the use of fabric has been a fascination for artists. From the most ancient times to the present, fabric forming folds, pleats and draperies, is a significant part of paintings, frescoes, reliefs and sculptures made of wood, stone and bronze. The use of fabric for the Wrapped Reichstag follows this classical tradition. Fabric, like clothing or skin, is fragile, it translates the unique quality of impermanence. For a period of two weeks, the richness of the silvery fabric, shaped by the blue ropes, creates a sumptuous flow of vertical folds highlighting the features and proportions of the imposing structure, revealing the essence of the Reichstag (J.C. Christo and Christo, Press Release, June 1995).