Christo (i.e. Chr. Javacheff) Store Front (Mandarin yellow from Red Devil enamel). 1965. drawing in mixed media with collage, pencil, oil crayon and enamel colour on drawing parchment. 71 x 56.5 cm. Signed, dated, inscribed and with further annotations in pencil. Mounted with staples on card and with nails on wooden panel. Presented in a perspex box. - Delicately browned due to the paper, slightly light-stained in the sheet margin, the mounting also showing through here, some traces of use as well as slightly stained due to the technique, the lower left corner with a small tear and the backing card with faint tidemark. Good overall. The colours in fresh condition. Detailed design drawing and an extremely important work for the development of Christo's oeuvre. Our work is known to the Christo & Jeanne Claude Archive in New York, we would like to thank them for kindly confirming its authenticity. - Christo and Jeanne-Claude began work on the Store Front Projects in the early 1960s, at that time still in Paris. The first show cases were created from small display cabinets and cupboards, which Christo mainly bought at flea markets, for example by gluing wrapping paper to the panes or fitting metal cabinets with a light bulb. After emigrating to New York in 1964, the two artists continued to work on the project, changing the dimensions of the resulting objects. The Store Front Project was now created from metal scaffolding and architectural elements, for which the already utilised elements of wrapping with fabric and wrapping paper were used again. As with all of his projects, Christo made very precise preliminary drawings and sketches, as the present work exemplifies. The detailed construction drawing, coloured in warm-toned enamel paint, demonstrates to the viewer that, in addition to sealing off the store fronts by gluing them together, the artists also attach great importance to emphasising the external architectural structures. The resulting tense dialogue between inside and outside, which is clearly perceptible to the viewer, was intensified in the executed form by the fact that the Store Fronts were always exhibited in a closed room, thereby changing the entire expression of the room and the perception of it. The Store Fronts, as present as they were placed in a room, nevertheless remained isolated from their surroundings and created a clear distance to the viewer. A comparative look at the artist duo's later, monumental land art projects shows that they already began in the Store Front Projects with the creation of new spaces and the alteration of existing spaces and their surroundings. - For further information, cf: Matthias Koddenberg, Beyond Sculpture: Christo's Store Fronts and Indoor Installation. In: Cahiers d'Art, Paris, September 2020. Drawing in mixed media with collage, pencil, oil pastel and enamel colour on parchment paper. 71 x 56.5 cm. Signed, dated, inscribed and with further annotations in pencil. Mounted with staples on cardboard and with nails on wooden board. Presented in a plexiglas box. - Delicately browned due to paper, slightly light-stained in the margin, the mounting lightly showing through, with slight traces of use and minimally stained due to the technique, the lower left corner with a small loss and the backing card with faint waterstain. Good overall. The colours in fresh condition. Detailed design drawing and an exceptionally important work for the understanding of Christo's oeuvre. - Our work is registered with the Christo & Jeanne Claude Archive in New York, we thank them for kindly confirming its authenticity. - Christo and Jeanne-Claude began working on the Store Front Projects in the early 1960s, while still living in Paris back then. They created their first Show Cases from small display cabinets and cupboards, which Christo mainly found at flea markets, for example by gluing packing paper to the panes or fitting metal cabinets with a light bulb. After emigrating to New York in 1964, the two artists continued to work on the project, changing the dimensions of the objects they created. The Store Front Project was now realised from metal scaffolding and architectural elements, for which the already established elements of wrapping with fabric and packing paper were used further. As with all of his projects, Christo made very precise preparatory drawings and sketches, as exemplified by our work. The detailed construction drawing, coloured in warm-toned enamel paint, clearly indicates that, in addition to sealing off the store fronts with adhesive bonding, the artists also attach great importance to emphasising the external architectural structures. The resulting tense dialogue between interior and exterior, which is clearly perceptible to the viewer, was reinforced by the fact that the Store Fronts were always exhibited in a closed room, thereby changing the entire expression of the room and the perception of it. The Store Fronts, as central as they were placed in a room, remained isolated from their surroundings and created a clear distance to the observer. A comparative look at the artist duo's later, monumental land art projects shows that they already originated in the Store Front Projects with the creation of new spaces and the alteration of existing structures and their surroundings. - Cf: Matthias Koddenberg, 'Beyond Sculpture: Christo's Store Fronts and Indoor Installation'. In: Cahiers d'Art, Paris, September 2020.