Works Exhibited
About
I was l’étranger, the foreigner, I was a refugee, I was stateless.
—Christo
Gagosian is pleased to announce a presentation of early works by Christo at 4 Princelet Street in the Spitalfields area of London, curated by Elena Geuna. The exhibition is the inaugural project in the Gagosian Open series of off-site projects and will remain open every day from October 6 to 22.
Gagosian Open is a new program of ambitious temporary projects sited beyond the walls of the gallery that allows audiences to experience remarkable artworks in unusual contexts. For the first presentation in the series, early works by Christo will be set in dialogue with a Grade II–listed Georgian house in London’s East End. Foreshadowing the artist’s large-scale temporary public projects, these sculptural works see everyday objects veiled in fabric or plastic and bound with rope or twine. They present an artist who, even at this formative stage of his career, was responding creatively to domestic and urban environments, drawing attention to overlooked details by obscuring them from view.
Alluding to the safeguarding of personal belongings, the works, most of which are from the 1960s and 1970s, also speak to ideas of movement, migration, and preservation. The artist’s mixed heritage and experience as a political refugee, daringly escaping Stalin-era Bulgaria to Prague, then relocating to Vienna, Geneva, Paris, and eventually New York, defined him as an eternal wanderer—“l’étranger,” as he referred to himself. This is echoed by the history of 4 Princelet Street itself as a house that has been home to successive migrant families. The property was first constructed in 1723 to house Huguenot migrants—the UK’s first refugees. The area has since welcomed Irish linen workers, Eastern European Jews, Jews from the Netherlands, and most recently members of Spitalfields’ large Bangladeshi community.
#Christo
Press
Gagosian
press@gagosian.com
Toby Kidd
tkidd@gagosian.com
+44 7551 562 067
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Hervé Marro
themastaba@christojeanneclaude.net
+33 6 88 79 11 23
Bolton & Quinn
+44 20 7221 5000
Erica Bolton
erica@boltonquinn.com
Daisy Taylor
daisy@boltonquinn.com
Christo: Early Works
Christo: Early Works, curated by Elena Geuna, is the inaugural exhibition in the Gagosian Open series of off-site projects. In this video, Geuna explores the connection between Christo’s sculptural works and their setting in the historic Georgian house at 4 Princelet Street, London.
The Iron Curtain: Christo & Jeanne-Claude
To mark the sixtieth anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s seminal installation The Iron Curtain, author William Middleton addresses the radicality of this work and its enduring relevance to the artists’ subsequent projects.
News
Performance
Lucinda Chua
On Christo
Saturday, October 7, 2023, 3:30pm and 5:30pm
Gagosian Open, 4 Princelet Street, London
Join Gagosian for a performance by Lucinda Chua inside Christo: Early Works, the inaugural exhibition, curated by Elena Geuna, in the Gagosian Open series of off-site projects. The multi-instrumentalist, singer, and producer will perform two improvised pieces in response to Christo’s early works and the unique architecture of 4 Princelet Street in the Spitalfields area of London. Born in London, Chua has English, Malaysian, and ancestral Chinese roots, deep connections that are excavated in her recent album, YIAN (2023), which, as Pitchfork writes, “gathers the threads that link home, history, and their relationship to the body.” Primarily using her voice, a cello, and an array of effects units, Chua will infuse the historic building with her distinctive sound blending intimacy, atmosphere, and haunting enchantment. No advance registration is required, but space is limited and will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Lucinda Chua. Photo: Yukitaka Amemiya
