Artwork Description
Christo and Jeanne-Claude – Wrapped Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Dimensions: 42 x 32″ unframed
Year: 1972
Medium: mixed media lithograph
The “Wrapped Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (Project)” was a groundbreaking 1969 environmental art installation by the renowned artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude. It holds historic significance as the very first public building the couple ever wrapped in the United States. When institutions in New York City declined the proposal over insurance and fire safety concerns, the fledgling Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Chicago eagerly embraced the idea. The project transformed the original museum building at 237 East Ontario Street into a monumental, soft sculpture that challenged traditional notions of architecture and public space.
The resounding success of the Chicago project provided Christo and Jeanne-Claude with the credibility they needed to pursue larger, international wrapping projects, ultimately leading to global icons like “The Gates (1979–2005) in New York’s Central Park and Wrapped Reichstag (1972–95) in Berlin.”, as noted by Artsy
Their works are included in the permanent collections of Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)|Centre Pompidou|Tate|Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum|Whitney Museum of American Art|The Metropolitan Museum of Art|Leeum – Samsung Museum of Art|National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.|Louisiana Museum of Art|Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden|Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)|Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA)|Museo Reina Sofia|Art Institute of Chicago|MCA Chicago|Moderna Museet, Stockholm