WOLFGANG VOLZ

Hotel Diplomat pays tribute to its regulars, the artist couple Christo & Jeanne-Claude with the project the wrapping of L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris September 2021.

The photo exhibition “The Eye of Christo and Jeanne-Claude” by photographer Wolfgang Volz, who for 50 years, worked with Christo’s and Jeanne-Claude’s famous installations. The exhibition, a collaboration between the hotel and Pelle Unger Gallery, show a selection of Volz’s documented works and their origins – an exclusive photographic treasure that captures an outstanding artistry.

The exhibition ”The Eye of Christo and Jeanne-Claude” consists of 7 photographic works by Christo’s and Jeanne-Claude’s famous installations, all taken by the photographer Wolfgang Volz. The exhibition opened on the 9th of September and was on display in The Gallery until the 9th of November 2021. All photographs was signed by Christo.

The couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude are among the most internationally acclaimed names in art during the last half century. Their famous outdoor installations in colossal format such as the wraps of the Reichstag in Berlin and the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris and the eleven islands outside Miami that were enclosed of pink artificial beaches. These works took years, some of them decades, to arrange and complete. When the wraps were removed and the seats restored, the works were gone and in this way Christo and Jeanne-Claude has not left any lasting works for posterity. Although the transience was part of the couple artistic concepts, they have since the early 1970s collaborated with the photographer Wolfgang Volz, as then became part of the team and documented all works and their origins worldwide. Volz’s collected images of the works are a historical photographic treasure that captures the unique artistry. Both Christo and Jeanne-Claude have left us. Jeanne-Claude passed away in 2009 and Christo in May 2020.

– It is a fantastic opportunity to show my work and my inspiration from Christo’s and Jeanne-Claude’s works in my hometown Stockholm. My wish is that the exhibition will arouse curiosity and new inspiration for the art of photography as well like other art forms, says Wolfgang Volz.

As the couple’s exclusive photographer, Volz was given the opportunity to follow their famous installations and lead the practical work on site for several projects, among other things, he organized it the enormous wrapping of Berlin’s parliament building, a work that occupied all his time for several years. Volz’s work has resulted in several books and over 300 exhibitions in museums and galleries, which inspires and preserves Christo’s and Jeanne-Claude’s artistic work for posterity.

About Wolfgang Volz
Wolfgang Volz was born in Germany in 1948. He studied photography in Essen when in 1969 he saw pictures of Christos and Jeanne-Claude’s installation ”Wrapped Coast” in Australia. Volz immediately became fascinated and in 1971 received he opportunity to contact the artists behind the work when they carried out an installation near the photo school. That was when Volz photographed this installation and showed his pictures to
Christo and Jeanne-Claude as the artist couple’s long collaboration with Volz was established. Volz was given a dual role in the collaboration, as he was both the couple’s exclusive photographer and at the same time led the implementation of important parts of the installations. Volz has published several books presenting the works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude and has also had several photo exhibitions in his own name and participated in group exhibitions. Volz has lived in Stockholm since 2008.

About Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff was born in 1935 in Bulgaria and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon was born in 1935 in Morocco. They first met in 1958 when Christo was painting a portrait of Jeanne-Claude’s mother. Their first joint work of art was presented in 1961 and in 1969 the couple made their first major installation; the wrapping of The Chicago Museum of Modern Art. Thus began the long series of colossal outdoor installations in places like Berlin, London, Paris, Miami, New York and Brescia in Italy, which would become a hallmark of their artistry. Christo and Jeanne-Claude explained that their art did not necessarily have a deeper meaning without the works primarily spreading joy and beauty and offer opportunities to see familiar objects from new perspectives.