 In just 16 days, more than four million people saw Christo's “The Gates,” a 23-mile-long installation comprised of 7,503 vinyl gates with free-flowing, saffron-colored cloth panels in New York’s Central Park in 2005. |
The celebrated artist Christo, whose acclaim in the world of environmental art looms as large as his world-renowned installations, will appear Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. in King Concert Hall as a guest of the college’s Department of Visual Arts and New Media as a part of the campus’ Inauguration Week activities.
“This is a rare opportunity to bring one of the most internationally renowned visual artists to our campus,” said Distinguished Professor of Visual Arts and New Media Alberto Rey. “Each of his projects receives a tremendous amount of international recognition in the media and the art world. His work has changed the way many people look at the idea of ‘art’.”
Christo will deliver a lecture/slide presentation at the event, which is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and are available at the campus Ticket Office. The presentation is entitled, "Two Works in Progress: "Over the River," Project for the Arkansas River, Colorado; and "The Mastaba," Project for the United Arab Emirates.
Christo’s visit has been made possible by a generous gift from Cathy Marion (’79), director of the Marion Foundation and a member of the Fredonia College Foundation Board of Directors, and her husband, Jesse Marion, president of Marion Investments. The couple, whose previous generosity to campus is reflected in the recently renovated Marion Art Gallery in the Rockefeller Arts Center, is thrilled to be able to bring such a globally celebrated artist to Fredonia.
