The Famous Bulgarians: Hristo Yavashev AKA Christo
From massive umbrellas to floating piers – the sculptures visible from outer space
Earlier this year there was an installation in the Italian lake Iseo, which grabbed a lot of people’s attention. A long, golden-yellow structure lay afloat on top of the water and people could actually walk on it and, of course, take loads of selfies for Facebook and Snapchat. Those are the kind of environmental sculptures Hristo Yavashev or Christo and his late wife and partner in art are famous for. Their story is one straight out of a movie. They were born on the exact same day in two very different parts of the world. Christo is from Gabrovo, Bulgaria and Jeanne-Claude was born in Casablanca, Morocco. They met in Paris after Christo had escaped from the Czech Republic. His life in the west was not easy. He was socially isolated and “stooped” to painting portraits (he likened the practice to prostitution) and had a hard time learning the language. But, as we all know, there’s always silver linings. One day he was hired to draw the portrait of Jeanne-Claude’s mother and eventually stole Jeanne-Claude right from under her fiancé at the time. Soon after they got together, they began to collaborate and create impressive works of art in the form of massive structures. Their first project as a pair was covering barrels at the port of Cologne. The one that earned them initial fame was the Iron Curtain – a wall of oil barrels, unapproved by the authorities, a statement against the Berlin Wall. Other major works include The Umbrellas (Japan and US), The Gates (Central Park, New York) and Surrounded Islands in Florida.
Random fact I found pretty interesting: Christo and Jeanne-Claude never flew in the same plane in case it crashed. That way, if one of them died in an accident, the other could continue their work. True love of each other and art…
Add Comment