New exhibition invites viewers inside the magic of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Surrounded Islands installation

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, 1980-83 Photo: Wolfgang Volz Copyright: 2024 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation

The memory of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s seminal Surrounded Islands project in Miami can be relived in-depth beginning this month at the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. Opening February 23rd, the exhibition covers their longest-running American installation that was realized in Miami’s Biscayne Bay in May of 1983.

Christo, Surrounded Islands (Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida) , 1982 Copyright: 2024 Christo and Jeanne -Claude FoundationCollection NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale: Gift of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation

The exhibition will feature a selection from a recent gift that includes over 43 preparatory drawings and other documents tracing its development from 1980 on while highlighting the “permanence” of the experience and broader implications to the region in ways organizers say make viewers a part of the creative process.

Bonnie Clearwater, the Director & Chief Curator of the museum, added: “A gift of the magnitude of the Surrounded Islands documentary exhibition to NSU Art Museum is incredibly significant. It marks much more than a gift; it’s an investment in the culture of our community and the future of the Museum.”

It joins the AR technology-enhanced 20th-anniversary exhibition of the beloved French duo’s The Gates installation happening now at The Shed in New York City.