Christo & Jeanne-Claude: Architectural
Sep 22, 2007 - Jan 13, 2008
The second in a series of four groupings from the Museum's Tom Golden Collection, Architectural features the wrapped buildings, bridges, and monuments that Christo and Jeanne-Claude conceived of over forty years ago and realized in the last twenty-five years.
In 2001 Tom Golden, the unofficial mayor of the small Northern California town of Freestone in Sonoma County, donated his collection of works by renowned artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude to the Sonoma County Museum. Golden’s personal and professional relationship with the artists began when he met them during the 1974 public hearings for of their project Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin counties, 1972-1976. Golden went on to manage or assist with a number of the artists’ large scale projects including The Umbrellas, Joint Project for Japan and the USA, 1984-1991 and, more recently, the as yet unrealized Over the River, Project for the Arkansas River. Actively engaged with the art he so loved for nearly 30 years, Golden passed away at his home in late 2002.
Tom Golden’s remarkable collection reflects his friendship with and admiration of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Over 100 original drawings, sculptures, collages and photographs lovingly trace their impressive careers. Original works from the sculpture, Double Show Window, 1972, to a recent collage of Over the River project, the collection captures the versatility, longevity and international scope of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Drawings and collages of the large-scale public works, sold to fund the actual installations, are an important component of this collection. Those projects include Running Fence, Surrounded Islands, The Pont Neuf Wrapped and Wrapped Reichstag among many others. There are also a multitude of smaller projects represented in original drawings from the whimsical Package on Radio Flyer Wagon to the haunting Wrapped Woman. Finally, unique to this collection are some small, poignant pieces made especially for Golden, including a wrapped bouquet of flowers.
