London’s Saatchi Gallery is hosting two new winter exhibitions. 'Boundless' is a retrospective dedicated to the late artistic duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude, while 'If Not Now, When?' explores the theme of time and the urgency around climate change.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 Hello and welcome to London's Saatchi Gallery
00:10 where we're taking a look at two new winter exhibitions.
00:14 One dedicated to an artistic duo
00:16 who've made a mark on a grand scale.
00:19 The other, a celebration of female sculptors.
00:28 Boundless is a retrospective tracing the creativity
00:31 of late life partners and artistic collaborators,
00:35 Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
00:37 Among their works, they wrap landmarks in fabric,
00:41 including Germany's Reichstag.
00:43 Christo himself couldn't really tell
00:46 what drove him to starting to wrap,
00:49 but at some point he started to wrap small objects
00:52 and it became bigger and bigger
00:54 and then he left the gallery space or museum space
00:58 and went outside doing projects in the landscape
01:02 and the city for people to be confronted with the art.
01:06 In 2021, the 50 meter high Arc de Triomphe in Paris
01:11 was wrapped.
01:12 A dream of Christo and Jeanne-Claude
01:15 since renting a nearby apartment in the 1960s.
01:18 Neither of them lived to see this,
01:20 but their photographer did.
01:23 I wish they had the chance that they were there
01:28 at the day of the unveiling
01:31 because I'm sure they would have appreciated it very much.
01:36 And the couple's legacy continues to live on.
01:41 This, another of their artistic visions
01:43 that could still be realized.
01:45 Just behind me, you can see the master bar,
01:49 which was first originated as an idea back in the 1970s.
01:53 The idea is to be a big pyramid
01:55 constructed of stacked oil barrels.
01:57 Christo had a dream that it was gonna be bigger
01:59 than the pyramids of Giza.
02:00 Versace Gallery's other winter exhibition
02:06 showcases the works of almost 30 female sculptors.
02:10 If not now, when?
02:12 Explores the theme of time.
02:14 The urgency around big issues such as climate change
02:19 and natural resources is explored.
02:22 This exhibit coming from UK artist, Deborah Duffin.
02:25 She's particularly focusing on electrical components.
02:30 The resources that are really being mined
02:32 throughout the world to produce our IT gadgets
02:35 is just actually incomprehensible.
02:37 And draws attention really to the lightness of her work,
02:43 the sort of fragility of these resources.
02:46 If not now, when?
02:49 And Christo and Jean-Claude Boundless.
02:52 Run at London's Sarchy Gallery until the 22nd of January.
02:56 (upbeat music)