Opening This Friday, August 19th
(MIAMI, FL — August 15, 2022) — Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is pleased to announce a new exhibition featuring artworks by established artist Christo, opening August 19, 2022. This exhibition presents stellar works gifted to PAMM by Christo’s longtime friends Maria Bechily and Scott Hodes, and features many drawings and collages which are fine examples of Christo’s drawing practice and methods of artistic production.
Christo (born Christo Vladmirov Javacheff) and his wife and artistic partner Jeanne-Claude made an undeniable impact on the history of art since the mid-20th century. Together, these two artists have created large-scale, ephemeral, public art projects. Their works have involved dramatic interventions in carefully selected outdoor locations. During their nearly 60 year career, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work has helped to expand the definition of art beyond paintings and sculptures. Instead, these artists envisioned and executed a radically democratic art form capable of speaking directly to diverse audiences across a full spectrum of society in public space.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude declined all financial support from governments, institutions, single patrons, and foundations during their career, and instead, chose to fund their massive art projects through the direct sales of drawings such as those featured in this exhibition. These works memorialize the projects and represent an alternative to the traditional funding structures for art. Collectively, the drawings exemplify an expansive overview of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s body of art, comprising their major projects spanning from the late 1960s to the early 2000s.
PAMM has a longstanding history of presenting works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. In 2018, PAMM exhibited a major show with Christo’s participation, Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, 1980-83: A Documentary Exhibition, which featured archival materials and artworks from the artists’ site-specific 1983 installation, Surrounded Islands, in Miami’s Biscayne Bay. This 2018 exhibition at PAMM commemorated the 35th anniversary of Surrounded Islands, as well as the founding of PAMM’s predecessor institution, Center for Fine Arts. PAMM opened in January of 1984 as the Center for Fine Arts, directed by Jan van der Marck, who also organized Surrounded Islands with the artists, in 1983. Van der Marck first presented Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work, Wrapped Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, in 1968, as director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
This new exhibition featuring drawings and collages by Christo is a chance to see the artworks that helped fund their massive public art projects such as Surrounded Islands, and is a testament to PAMM’s history of showing the works of these two acclaimed artists.
Christo Drawings: A Gift from the Maria Bechily and Scott Hodes Collection is organized by former PAMM curator María Elena Ortiz.
OPENING EVENTS
Exhibition Preview + Tours
August 18
6:00 – 9:00 PM
Join us for the opening of our newly installed exhibition, Christo Drawings: A Gift from the Maria Bechily and Scott Hodes Collection. Christo and his wife and artistic collaborator Jeanne-Claude made an inestimable impact on the history of art since the mid-20th century. This exhibition presents fine examples of Christo’s drawing practice, which constitutes a pivotal aspect of his production. Collectively, the drawings exemplify an expansive overview of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s oeuvre, comprising their major projects spanning from the late 1960s to the early 2000s.
Get an in-depth look at the artworks by joining a guide-led tour of the exhibition. Tours are offered at 6pm, 7pm, and 8pm. $16 adults and PAMM members free.
Member Appreciation Lounge: Figurative Terrace
August 18
6:00 – 9:00 PM
In celebration of the opening of our newest exhibition, Christo Drawings: A Gift from the Maria Bechily and Scott Hodes Collection, join us for an evening of art and libations in the Member Appreciation Lounge. Enjoy the show, light bites, and complimentary drinks while surrounding yourself with a beautiful view of the bay and live music through 9pm. Become a member.
ABOUT PAMM
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), led by Director Franklin Sirmans, promotes artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture, and design, and reflecting the diverse community of its pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas. The nearly 40-year-old South Florida institution, formerly known as Miami Art Museum (MAM), opened a new building, designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, on December 4, 2013 in Downtown Miami’s Maurice A. Ferré Park. The facility is a state-of-the-art model for sustainable museum design and progressive programming and features 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor program space with flexible galleries; shaded outdoor verandas; a waterfront restaurant and bar; a museum shop; and an education center with a library, media lab, and classroom spaces.
