Christo. From Gabrovo to the Arc de Triomphe


  • Type: travelling exhibition
  • Year: 2021
  • Institution: Bulgarian Cultural Institute
  • Location: Paris, France
  • Topic: art, contemporary art, history
  • Tasks: exhibition design, graphic design 

The exhibition “Christo. From Gabrovo to the Arc de Triomphe” tells the story of the Yavachev family, Christo’s earliest childhood years and the young artist’s first artistic endeavors. Among the exhibits are personal photos provided by the Yavachev family, remembrances from friends and peers as well as documents from the State Archive and other institutions. On display are also early works of Christo from his student years.

The exhibition is a joint initiative of the Museum of Humor and Satire and the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Paris with support from Gabrovo Municipality. It is dedicated to the execution of the project “Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped” in the French capital in 2021. The exhibition is part of an initiative to establish a Center for Contemporary Art “Christo and Jean-Claude” in Christo’s hometown of Gabrovo.

The materials in the exhibition are provided by Elka and Stefan Yavachev, Daniela and Anani Yavachev, Evgenia Atanasova-Teneva, Geo Kukudov, Dragan Nemtsov, Nedyalko Danov. Institutional partners of the project are the Ministry of Culture, the State Archive – Gabrovo and Regional History Museum – Gabrovo.

TEAM:

  • Curator: Margarita Dorovska
  • Texts: Evgenia Atanasova-Teneva
  • Research: Evgenia Atanasova-Teneva, Elena Nikolova, Margarita Dorovska, “Our Bigger Gabrovo” Association
  • Translation to French: Stanimir Delchev
  • Translation to English: Traci Speed
  • Exhibition and graphic design: Martina Deneva
  • Production and logistics: Elena Nikolova, Dimka Koleva

PHOTOGRAPHS: @MUSEUM OF HUMOR AND SATIRE @Martina Deneva