Christo and Jeanne-Claude (Limited Edition)

Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Edition of 1,000

US$ 2,500

Product photos by Mark Seelen

“Nobody discusses a painting before it has been painted. Our projects are discussed and argued about, pro and con, before they are realized.” —Christo

The work of the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude transcends borders, resists categorizing, and embraces contradiction. This is the only large-format book that includes all of their projects, from Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s works from 1958 to urban and rural temporary works of art, such as The Gates in Central Park, the Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin, and Running Fence in California.

Part biography, part critical analysis, part catalogue, this lavish Collector’s Edition, designed by Christo himself, gives a detailed overview of the life and work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, from early drawings and family photos to plans for future projects. It features hundreds of previously unpublished photographs, drawings and plans for realized works, an incisive and detailed history spanning the entire oeuvre, and in-depth interviews.

In addition to a thorough photographic documentation of all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work, the book includes the transcript of a conversation between the artists and Paul Goldberger, the last conversation about her work that Jeanne-Claude had before her death in late 2009. This book is an eloquent homage to Jeanne-Claude, and a celebration of the work of two artists whose imagination has affected the landscape of every continent.

Also available in an Art Edition of 100 copies, with an original pigment/silk-screen print, signed by Christo. C opies no. 1 to 6 are accompanied by original works of Over The River, Project for Arkansas River, State of Colorado or The Mastaba, Project for United Arab Emirates

The artists

Christo and Jeanne-Claude began their collaboration in 1961, and have lived in New York City since 1964. Jeanne-Claude died in 2009. Their large-scale projects include Wrapped Coast, Australia, 1968–69; Valley Curtain, Rifle, Colorado, 1970–72; Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972–76; Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Florida, 1980–83; The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975–85; The Umbrellas, Japan–USA, 1984–91; Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971–95; Wrapped Trees, Riehen, Switzerland, 1997–98; The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979–2005; and The Floating Piers, Lake Iseo, Italy, 2014–16.

The photographer

Wolfgang Volz has worked with Christo and Jeanne-Claude as the exclusive photographer of their works since 1971. He was also project director (with Roland Specker) for Wrapped Reichstag and (with Josy Kraft) for Wrapped Trees, and was in charge of The Wall – 13,000 Oil Barrels, Gasometer Oberhausen, Germany, 1998-99 and Big Air Package, Gasometer Oberhausen, Germany, 2010-13. His close collaboration has resulted in many books and more than 300 exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world.

The author

Paul Goldberger is the Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic of The New Yorker, where, since 1997, he has written the "Sky Line" column, and is the author of several books, including Why Architecture Matters (2009) and Christo and Jeanne-Claude (2010, for TASCHEN). He lectures widely on architecture, design, historic preservation and cities, and has taught at both Yale School of Architecture and the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Edition of 1,000

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Wolfgang Volz, Paul Goldberger

Hardcover in clamshell box, 13 x 17.3 in., 754 pages

Other editions

“This publication is a vibrant homage to the imagination of two artists who have transformed our vision of landscapes across continents.”

— fashion-artmagazine.com, Paris

Zaha Hadid

“The Christo and Jeanne-Claude monograph, with the most engaging images by Wolfgang Volz, vividly documents their process and the profoundly intuitive, provocative nature of their work, where integrity and materiality play a critical role.”