“Lauren Rogers Museum of Art presents Christo and Jeanne-Claude:  Prints and Objects”

Laurel, MS—Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is proud to present Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Prints and Objects on display July 27 through October 6.  The public is invited to attend an exhibition preview and reception Thursday, July 26 from 6 – 7:30 p.m.

The exhibition includes more than 130 original numbered editions of prints and objects by Christo and photographic editions by Wolfgang Volz of works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.  Varied in content and technique, the collection represents more than 40 years of Christo and Jeanne Claude’s versatile artistic career, and it includes works of art that date from 1961 through 2007.

Although Christo, and Jeanne-Claude, who died in 2009, have worked primarily with fabric, they have described themselves as environmental artists because they work in both rural and urban environments. Known for large-scale projects in which Christo and Jeanne-Claude have made short-term, reversible interventions in cityscapes and landscapes, their most recent project, “The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005” drew millions of visitors to Manhattan’s Central Park during the 16 days of the project’s installation.

All works created to be indoors, from 1958 until today, such as wrapped objects and packages, drawings, collages, scale models and lithographs are works by Christo. All works created to be outdoors, and the large-scale indoor temporary installations, are works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Many of the pieces in the exhibition relate to Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s large-scale projects—some representing completed projects and others representing the artists’ conceptions of projects that were never realized. The act of drawing and collage is a preparatory one for Christo in anticipation of a project’s execution. Once completed, the large-scale, temporary projects are recorded in photographs, documentary films and books.

The cost of realizing the work is enormous. Christo accepts no sponsorship, commissions or any public funds. He sells everything he has from the early packages and wrapped objects of 1958 from his storage, and any preparatory drawings for projects that are available in order to cover the expenses of each project.

Noteworthy pieces in the exhibition include preparatory works for and documentation photographs of “Surrounded Islands, Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida”; lithograph/collages of “Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped” and “Wrapped Opera House, Project for Sydney”; photographs of “Valley Curtain, Rifle, Colorado” and “Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties”; and sculptural objects such as “Wrapped New York Times” and “Wrapped Payphone.”

The exhibition is organized by Metro State College of Denver, Center for Visual Art, Denver, CO. Christo derives no income from this exhibition.  For more information about Christo and Jeanne-Claude, visit www.christojeanneclaude.net.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi, Foil Wyatt Architects & Planners, Jefferson Medical, Mississippi Power, Regions, and The Jean Chisholm Lindsey Exhibition Endowment Fund.

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is a private, non-profit organization operating for the benefit of the public. The Museum is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in historic downtown Laurel.  The galleries are open from 10 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and I – 4 p.m. on Sunday.  Admission is free, but donations are accepted.   For more information call 601-649-6374 or visit www.LRMA.org.