Biography
Christo (Javacheff) was born in 1935 in Gabrovo, Bulgaria. Between 1953 and 1956 he studied painting, sculpture and stage design at the Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia. In 1956 he lived briefly in Prague, Czechoslovakia. In 1957 he studied sculpture for one term under Fritz Wotruba at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. In 1958 he settled in Paris. He became temporarily associated with the Nouveau Royalistes. In 1958 he began to package objects.

His first “store fronts”
His assemblages of oil drums were shown in Cologne in 1961. He exhibited in 1963 at the Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf. In 1964 he moved to New York where he made his first “store fronts”. In 1966 his “store fronts” were shown at the Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, and at the Leo Castelli Gallery, New York.

His first packaged building
In 1968 he packaged the Berner Kunsthalle - his first packaged building. He was represented at the documental exhibitions “4″, “5″ and “6″ in Kassel in 1968, 1972 and 1974, and in 1972 and 1976 at the Venice Biennale. He produced over dimensional packaging projects for buildings, skyscrapers and landscapes. His especially well-known large scale projects were Valley Curtain, Rifle, Colorado in 1972 and Running Fence, California, in 1976.

The Project “Wrapped Reichstag”
In 1977 his exhibition Christo - The Running Fence toured Rotterdam, Bonn, Hanover, Humblebaek, Hovikoden, Zurich, Brussels and Grenoble. In 1971 he began the project Wrapped Reichstag with his artistic partner Jeanne-Claude, which was completed in 1995. In 1980 he took part in the exhibition Mein Kolner Dom for the 100th anniversary of the cathedral.

The project “Surrounded Islands”
In 1983 Christo and Jeanne-Claude produced the project Surrounded Islands: eleven islands in Biscayne Bay near Miami, Florida, were surrounded by wide collars of floating pink polypropylene fabric.

Bulgaria-Born Christo Celebrates Freedom in The Gates
Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude are to install 23 miles of saffron-colored fabric gates in Central Park after winning a long-drawn-out battle with the city council of New York.