Nov 16, 2017 - Sale 2463

Sale 2463 - Lot 252

Unsold
Estimate: $ 20,000 - $ 30,000
CHRISTO
Study for Corridor Store Front--Back Room.

Pencil and gouache on smooth wove paper, 1968. 710x558 mm; 28x22 inches. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right recto.

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the artist's studio, New York, July 20, 2017.

While most well known for his monumental public artworks created in collaboration with his wife, Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009), Christo's (born 1935) earlier works were created on a smaller scale. By the late 50s-early 60s, Christo was wrapping everyday objects, such as cans, bottles, chairs, magazines, and cars (see lot 248). He began making "show cases" in Paris in 1963 using display cases bought from flea markets and altering or decorating them.

When Christo and Jeanne-Claude emigrated to New York the subsequent year, following the advice of famed gallerist Leo Castelli, Christo was inspired by the colossal nature of the architecture and began making "show windows" and "store fronts," which were similar to his "show cases" but larger in scale. The "store fronts" created during this first year had a distinct craftsmanship feel but later examples such as the current work have a cooler, more clinical and modern aesthetic.

Christo created a number of "store fronts" over the course of the mid-1960s. The first was built at the Chelsea Hotel, on 23rd Street, where Christo and Jeanne-Claude stayed for a short time upon their arrival in New York. One "store front" example was exhibited at Leo Castelli's gallery in 1964, and several other examples were shown at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

The current work is a study for Christo's 1967-68 installation Corridor Store Front--Back Room, currently installed at the Musée d'art Moderne et Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland. The artist's adept handling of simple pencil lines and fields of white gouache give an impression of the realized physical space as it stands in Geneva. Christo also completed a series of prints relating to the project (see lot 249).

Corridor Store Front, which was initially exhibited in Germany in 1968, was his largest such work at 1,450 square feet. As was typical of his work process, he created a number of preparatory collages, prints and drawings for the project. Such studies are an important and indispensable part of his overall artistic process and represent a significant portion of the artist's oeuvre.