(born in Gabrovo, Bulgaria in 1935;
lives and works in New York)
Kunsthalle Bern-Packed (Project for the 50th Anniversary of Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland), 1968, signed, dated, titled and inscribed, pencil, staples, xerox print, tape, string, fabric and paper collage on board within plexiglass container, 72 x 57 cm

The authenticity of this work has kindly been confirmed by the artist

Provenance:
Sotheby’s London, sale L14023,1 July 2014, lot 143

Literature:
Ludwig Museum, Christo, Projekte in der Stadt 1961–1981,
exh. cat., Cologne 1981, p. 114 with ill.

There is more than on peculiarity about this installation: it was the first museum that Christo “wrapped” and the “wrapping” did not last for a long time. The importance of the year in which this event took place was marked not only by the significance of 1968 as an overall turning year but also because the Bern Kunsthalle was celebrating its Fiftieth anniversary.
To celebrate its anniversary the museum organized a group exhibition of environmental works. Christo participated to the exhibition placing nothing inside the museum but “packaging” the exhibition from the exterior.
Christo worked hard with eleven construction workers and since no nails could be utilized inside the building, “special wooden supports had to be built for fastening the fabric to the building and at one point, to facilitate work on the roof, the local fire brigade was called upon to lend a hydraulic ladder. Insurance companies refused to underwrite the Kunsthalle and its valuable contents during the period it was wrapped, so to guard against possible fire and vandalism, the museum‘s director Harald Szeemann had six watchmen posted around the building at all times. As this proved to be quite expensive, the building was unwrapped after one week”
from Christo by David Bourdon, H.N.Abrams Publishers,
New York 1971. Edited in 2011