20 years on, ‘The Gates’ makes a digital return to Central Park
The 2005 installation ‘The Gates’ by Christo and Jeanne-Claude marks its 20th anniversary with a digital comeback, relived through the lens of your phone

20 years ago, New York’s Central Park turned orange with a now legendary installation titled ‘The Gates’. The site-specific installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude featured 7,503 gates spanning 23 miles throughout the park, and attracted over four million visitors. Now, to mark its 20th anniversary, this saffron-coloured art returns, but this time on your phone.
‘The Gates’ returns in all its saffron glory to Central Park
Christo and Jeanne-Claude at The Gates, New York City, February 2005
With the help of augmented reality, ‘The Gates’ by Bulgarian artist Christo Yavacheff and French artist Jeanne-Claude makes its digital return to Central Park where visitors can view its billowing saffron fabric on their smartphones, located between East 72nd Street and Cherry Hill.
The original art installation made its debut on 12 February 2005, and lined Central Park’s footpaths with over 7000 16-foot-tall orange gates. The somewhat simple concept captivated the public with its warming colour palette during New York's darker months – and darker times in history – after the 9/11 attacks.
The bright orange fabric which caught the wind and created a balloon-like tunnel, sparked joy and happiness within the icy park, and acted as a symbol of hope to many. Now, throughout the park there are various kiosks with QR-codes which allow visitors to scan with their phones and see ‘The Gates’ as it was 20 years ago.
To further celebrate the installation’s anniversary, the Shed at Hudson Yards will display a retrospective titled ‘Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City’ which focuses on the design process and installation of ‘The Gates’, which also included photographs, drawings and earlier design concepts.
‘Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City’ is on display at The Shed until 23 March 2025 theshed.org christojeanneclaude.net
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Tianna Williams is Wallpaper*s staff writer. Before joining the team in 2023, she contributed to BBC Wales, SurfGirl Magazine, Parisian Vibe, The Rakish Gent, and Country Life, with work spanning from social media content creation to editorial. When she isn’t writing extensively across varying content pillars ranging from design, and architecture to travel, and art, she also helps put together the daily newsletter. She enjoys speaking to emerging artists, designers, and architects, writing about gorgeously designed houses and restaurants, and day-dreaming about her next travel destination.
-
We take the new Jaecoo 7 SUV along South Africa’s famous Garden Route
Endurance, efficiency and economic soft power, Wallpaper* experiences China’s new SUV challenger on a gentle safari across South Africa
By Adam Hay-Nicholls Published
-
Join our world tour of contemporary homes across five continents
We take a world tour of contemporary homes, exploring case studies of how we live; we make five stops across five continents
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
'Imagine if new technologies were rooted in empathy': women, computing and radical software in Vienna
'Radical Software: Women, Art & Computing 1960–1991' doesn’t pretend to portray the totality of tech in art, instead taking the specific 31-year period of the title to shed light upon 48 women artists who engaged critically with computation
By Will Jennings Published
-
‘Psychedelic art palace’ Meow Wolf is coming to New York
The ultimate immersive exhibition, which combines art and theatre in its surreal shows, is opening a seventh outpost in The Seaport neighbourhood
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Wim Wenders’ photographs of moody Americana capture the themes in the director’s iconic films
'Driving without a destination is my greatest passion,' says Wenders. whose new exhibition has opened in New York’s Howard Greenberg Gallery
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Miami’s new Museum of Sex is a beacon of open discourse
The Miami outpost of the cult New York destination opened last year, and continues its legacy of presenting and celebrating human sexuality
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Inside Luna Luna: the amusement park designed by artists lands in New York
‘Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy’ – featuring rides by Basquiat, Lichtenstein, Hockney, Haring, and Dalí – has opened at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Henni Alftan’s paintings frame everyday moments in cinematic renditions
Concurrent exhibitions in New York and Shanghai celebrate the mesmerising mystery in Henni Alftan’s paintings
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Brutalism in film: the beautiful house that forms the backdrop to The Room Next Door
The Room Next Door's production designer discusses mood-boarding and scene-setting for a moving film about friendship, fragility and the final curtain
By Anne Soward Published
-
'There’s an anxiety under all of it': Violet Dennison in New York
Violet Dennison debuts abstract paintings with new show 'Damaged Self' at Tara Downs Gallery
By Mary Cleary Published
-
Mark Armijo McKnight’s bodily landscapes capture the tactile serenity of the American West
The artist’s new exhibition at the Whitney Museum, which is organised by the museum curator Drew Sawyer, offers a succinct window into his contemplative suggestion of queering a landscape
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published