40 Years of the Deutsche Bank Collection
Christo & Jeanne-Claude: “The Gates (Project for Central Park, New York City)”, 2003

Max Bill’s twisted granite sculpture “Continuity,” Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s installation "The Gates" in New York's Central Park, Cao Fei’s vision of a virtual, futuristic setting in the middle of nowhere: On a monthly basis, we show a work that represents a period of contemporary history and reflects the Deutsche Bank Collection, which is celebrating its 40th birthday this year.


Christo & Jeanne-Claude
The Gates (Project for Central Park, New York City), Collage, 2003

� Christo, 2003; Photograph: Argenis Apolinario Photography


After twenty-six years of preparation, the time had finally come in February 2005: The Gates, one of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s most spectacular projects, opened in New York’s Central Park. A total of 7,503 gates rose five meters into the sky. Saffron-yellow lengths of fabric hung from them, fluttering like curtains in the wind. Four million visitors from all over the world came to experience the silent magic of this work of art. The artists covered the costs for The Gates by selling sketches, collages, and drawings. Deutsche Bank also supported the project and bought some of the works, which are currently on view in the bank’s New York headquarters.

In 2021, the New York headquarters will move to a new location, Columbus Circle, where these works will be shown again. Even after The Gates, Deutsche Bank remains associated with Christo and Jeanne-Claude: In 2020, the PalaisPopulaire presented an exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of the wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin, which, along with The Gates, is one of the best-known works of art ever created for a public space. An exhibition that will remain with us a little longer with this work from the Deutsche Bank Collection.