Christo and Jean-Claude “Over the River” and “Gates Project”: September 1 – October 24, Williams Center Gallery

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s long-proposed Over the River temporary artwork is at an important juncture. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has recently published a draft Environmental Impact Statement on the project’s potential impacts and benefits, as well as possible mitigation measures. The BLM is accepting public comments through September 14, which will influence the BLM’s final decision on the project.

The Lafayette exhibition looks at two of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s works: Over the River: Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado, and the recently completed The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979–2005. Over The River calls for 5.9 miles of silvery, luminous fabric panels to be suspended high above the Arkansas River along a 40-mile stretch between Salida and Cañon City in south-central Colorado; the installation is planned for two weeks in August 2013, at the earliest.

The initial plans for Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates, Central Park, New York City, began in 1979. After years of environmental-impact reviews, engineering studies, public comment, and the obtaining of permits, the temporary installation of free-hanging, saffron-colored fabric panels along 23 miles of walkways in Central Park was finally realized in 2005.

This exhibition features art prints documenting the two projects; they are on loan courtesy of Nature New York’s Nature.