site.btaCulture Minister Bachev Marks Christo and Jeanne-Claude Anniversaries in Berlin

Minister of Culture Marian Bachev said in Berlin on Monday that the art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, born of an inner impulse and of the freedom and pleasure of creating, continues to move and inspire millions of people worldwide and shows that when an artist follows their own truth, their world inevitably illuminates that of others.

He was a special guest at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Berlin, where the 90th anniversaries of the births of Christo and Jeanne-Claude and the 30th anniversary of the wrapping of the Reichstag were marked with the launch of the German-language edition of LIK magazine Christo and Jeanne-Claude at 90 in Eternity and the National Gallery’s exhibition Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin (1971-1995).

More than one hundred guests, mostly Germans as well as members of the Bulgarian community in Berlin, attended the event at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Berlin, including choreographer Eleonora Aleksandrova, jazz musician Vladimir Karparov, artists Vesela Grigorieva and Ivan Kostolov, writer Veso Portarski, Deutsche Welle journalist Marinela Lipcheva, Union of Composers Chair Tsenko Minkin and others.

Special guests at the event also included Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev and National Gallery Director Anelia Nikolaeva. Among those present was Bulgarian Ambassador to Germany Grigor Porozhanov. The guests also included Metropolitan Anthony of Western and Central Europe and Father Yuliyan Angelov, chair of the Orthodox church St Tsar Boris the Baptizer in Berlin. German-Bulgarian Forum Chair Volker Berresheim was in the audience as well.

“It is a particular honour for me to be here today at the official presentation of the German-language edition of the special issue of BTA’s LIK magazine dedicated to the great artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, as well as at the opening of the exhibition Wrapped Reichstag – a symbolic event that marks significant moments: the 90th anniversaries of the births of Christo and Jeanne-Claude and the 30th anniversary of the implementation of the emblematic installation in Berlin,” Bachev said.

“You are not merely attending a literary or artistic event – you are standing on an interactive ‘floating bridge’ between languages, states, and cultural spaces, whose construction was initiated by Christo,” he added., addressing the audience. In his words, this “floating bridge” continues to exist in one way or another across time and space because Christo, through his installations, broadened the understanding of contemporary art.

“Christo Javacheff, born in Bulgaria, and Jeanne-Claude Marie Denat de Guillebon, born in France, succeeded in creating a shared artistic language that is recognized around the world. Through their unique creative signature, they demonstrated that art has the power to transform, and not just objects, but also our very perception of space, architecture, and the urban environment; they showed us that art can change the way we see the world and ourselves,” Bachev added.

He said the German-language issue of LIK magazine is an extremely important step. “Through the written word, their voice and vision reach a wider audience, including many people here in Berlin – the city where one of their most emblematic works came to life. And what pleases me most is that their story is told with depth, respect and professionalism, for which I warmly congratulate the magazine’s team,” Bachev said.

He added that marking 90 years since the birth of the life and creative tandem Christo and Jeanne-Claude is a moment for reflection but also for renewed inspiration. “Because Christo and Jeanne-Claude left a legacy that goes beyond time: projects that not only transformed major world symbols such as the Reichstag, Pont Neuf or Central Park, but also filled them with a new, unexpected presence,” Bachev noted. He said he was happy that thanks to the financial support of the Ministry of Culture these anniversaries are being marked in a worthy way. “I assure you that the State’s support for Bulgarian culture – especially for events with an international reach such as this one – is a sign of a lasting commitment to our cultural heritage and to contemporary art,” the minister underlined.

He also expressed thanks to the teams of the Bulgarian Embassy in Berlin, the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Berlin, the National Gallery, all curators, translators and organizers, as well as art lovers. “What Christo and Jeanne-Claude created is one of the important reasons that oblige us to keep working so that Bulgarian artists – with talent, courage and vision – find their rightful place on the world stage. It is also proof that the cultural dialogue between Bulgaria and Europe is active and fruitful,” the culture minister said.

Bachev recalled Christo’s words that “art is entirely for pleasure”, spoken in 2016 to The New York Times. “Javacheff consistently developed this idea in many other interviews, explaining that whatever he did, he did it for himself and that if someone else liked his works, that was simply a welcome addition,” Bachev added.

The publication of the German-language edition of LIK magazine is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Lidl and Kyashif Ltd.

The German-language issue on the theme Christo and Jeanne-Claude at 90 in Eternity can be found at this link.