On February 12, 2005, Christo Yavacheff and Jeanne-Claude unveiled one of the world’s most iconic site-specific projects: The Gates. For two weeks, 7,503 steel “gates” towered over 23 miles of pathway in New York’s Central Park, each decorated with iridescent saffron flags that billowed in the mid-winter wind. Now, in celebration of its 20th anniversary, The Gates returns to the city—this time, in a new form.
Using the Bloomberg Connects app for smartphones, visitors to Central Park are once again invited to experience The Gates through augmented reality (AR). The app charts roughly 5% of the original installation upon the park’s landscape, offering an immersive glimpse into the renowned artwork, especially for those who didn’t attend its run 20 years ago. The app also allows users to snap pictures and videos with the AR installation visible in the frame.
“The scale and scope in a challenging outdoor environment such as this, it really does push things,” David Harding, the head of product and engineering at Bloomberg Connects, told Time Out New York.
The challenge, however, proved worth it: the app’s intricate AR system reproduces each gate with tremendous precision and detail, down to mimicking environmental factors such as wind, sun, and cloud coverage.
“It's as close to the real thing as they could do it,” Vladimir Yavachev, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s director of projects, said during a tour of the AR experience.
This AR element complements an ongoing exhibition at the Shed, a massive event venue nestled beside Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s west side. Titled Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City, the exhibition traces the legacy of The Gates, which served as the pair’s only public installation in New York, through original drawings, scale models, and components from the Central Park installation itself. A virtual, animated model of The Gates is also superimposed upon a large-scale map of the original project location, providing a comprehensive overview without necessitating a visit to the park.
The second portion of the exhibition is dedicated to the pair’s unrealized proposals for New York, revealing the “duo’s ambitious and innovative spirit and their deep connection to the city they called home from 1964 until their deaths,” as the Shed writes in the exhibition statement.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude is currently on view for free at the Shed through March 23, 2025. The AR experience will also be available on the Bloomberg Connects app through April 16, 2025.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s iconic public installation The Gates has returned to New York in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
The Gates can now be viewed in Central Park through an augmented reality system on the Bloomberg Connects app.
An accompanying exhibition at the Shed also offers an unprecedented glimpse into the iconic public installation.
“The Gates” as seen from the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Photo: Brainsik, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Exhibition Information
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City
February 12–March 23, 2025
The Shed
545 W 30th St., New York, NY 10001
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Website | Instagram
The Shed: Website | Instagram
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