the street is our gallery

A monumental mural in memory of the legendary artist Christo appeared in Sofia, Bulgaria, shortly after the wrapping of the triumphal arch in Paris. The artwork was created by the Bulgarian graffiti artist – Nasimo and it was named by him ‘Christo Wrapping Sofia Mathematical High School’, as the mural is spanning the building of the municipal school. It aims to make a direct association with Christo’s monumental art installations. Although there is a memorial mission, Nasimo has set out to create it in such a way that it does not bring sadness and nostalgia, but on the contrary – to paint a bright and optimistic picture of the future, as Christo’s art has always been doing for him.

The artistic action is part of the project of Sofia Municipality ‘Christo and Jean- Claude: Meetings without separation’, realized in partnership with Sofia City Art Gallery, National Academy of Arts, French Institute in Bulgaria, Goethe Institute, Art Affairs and Documents Foundation and the ‘Musiz’ Foundation.

Christo passed away on 31 May 2020 at the age of 84. He is an American sculptor, artist and avant-garde of Bulgarian origin, famous together with his wife Jean-Claude de Guillebon with his original spatial art installations, wrapping cloth in various objects – from typewriter and telephone to entire buildings, islands and even а coast. One year after his death, one of his biggest dreams came true – to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, where he lived for a while in the 60’s.

‘The work I did interprets Christo’s work as an appeal to the importance we attach to packaging in our world. Nowadays, we all admire the packaging and ignore the contents. I think that to a large extent with his work Christo wanted to draw our attention to just that “- commented Nasimo.

Nasimo is one of the pioneers of the Bulgarian graffiti scene. Starting spraying aerosol paint on walls in the early 90ies he is still one of the most proactive graffiti and fine art muralists from Bulgaria and the Balkans. His works can be seen in many countries around the world, often spanning across multi-storey buildings.

Artist Link: www.nasimo.org