Christo's 50-Year-Old Dream of Wrapping Air Realized at Gagosian London

Six years after Christo's death in 2020, Gagosian Grosvenor Hill in London has realized the artist's 1960s concept of wrapping air. Originally proposed for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia but limited by technical constraints, the installation bisects the opening room horizontally with a giant plastic bag that makes the intangible physical, gaining a bodily sense of weight and unexpected emotional resonance. Christo, known with Jeanne-Claude for wrapping the Reichstag, Arc de Triomphe, and Pont Neuf, here wraps nothing—containing only air. The exhibition marks the first time the work has been executed, fulfilling a vision from half a century ago.