Early Works

  

   



Christo
Package 1958
Fabric, lacquer and rope.
37 X 26 X 16 cm (14-1/2" X 10-1/4" X 6-1/4")
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1958 Christo



Christo
Empaquetage 1958
74 X 5 X 51 cm (29-1/8" X 20" X 5")
Paper, rope, and lacquer, mounted on fabric,
board and wood
Photo: Christian Bauer ©1958 Christo



Christo
Wrapped Oil Barrels 1958-59
4 wrapped barrels:
2@62 X 36,5 cm, 24-1/2" X 14-3/8"
1@64 X 36,5 cm, (25-14" X 14-3/8")
1@60 X 38 cm, (23-58" X 15")
14 barrels not wrapped.
Fabric, enamel paint, steel wire
and barrels.
Photo: Wolfgang Volz © 1958-59 Christo

Other Artworks Featuring Oil Barrels




Christo
Lower Manhattan Wrapped Building,
Project for New York City - Scale Model 1964
Fabric, jute, rope, twine, wood, pencil,
wax crayon, and enamel paint
73,4 X 51 X56 cm, (29" X 20" X 22")
Photo: Wolfgang Volz ©1964 Christo




Christo
Wrapped Night Table 1960
94 X 40 X 33 cm, (37" X 15-3/4" X 13")
Fabric, rope, twine and wooden table.
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1960 Christo




Christo
Wrapped Vespa 1963-64
102,9 X 170 X 58,4 cm.
(40-12"X 67" X 23")
Ropes, polyethylene and Vespa motorcycle.
Photo: André Grossman ©1964 Christo




Christo
Package 1965
17 X 7,5 X 4 cm, (6-3/3"X 3" X 1-1/2")
Fabric, rope and twine
Photo: André Grossman ©1965 Christo




Christo
Wrapped Magazines 1962
38 X 30 X 5 cm, (15" X 12" X 2")
Paris Match, the leg of Marilyn Monroe
Polyethelene, rtope and cord
photograph by Christian Bauer ©1962 Christo




Christo
Package 1961
94 X 71 X 30,5 cm, (37" X 28" X 12")
Fabric, polyethylene, ropes, on wooden support
Photo: André Grossman ©1961 Christo




Christo
Package 1969
171,5 X 229 X 300 cm.
(76-1/2" X 90" X 118")
Tarpaulin, rope, and wood.
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1969 Christo




Christo
Wtrapped Tree, Project
Scale Model 1968
10 X 7 X 80,3 cm.
(4" X 2-5/8" X 31-5/8")
Plasticized fabric, polyethylene, tree branch, twine, wood and paint.
Photo: André Grossman ©1968 Christo




Christo
Wrapped Paintings 1969
246,4 X 184,1 X 21,6 cm.
(97" X72-1/2" X 8-1/2")
Tarpaulin, rope, and wood.
Photo: André Grossman ©1969 Christo




Christo
Dolly 1964
183 X 101,5 X 82 cm, (72" X 40" X 32")
Wooden box, tarlaulin, rope, plastic and girth.
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1964 Christo




Christo
Wrapped Table and Chair 1963
106,6 X 152,5 X 40,6 cm, (42" X 60" X 16")
Woodenconsole table, chair, crystal candelabra.
polyethylene, rope and twine.
©1963 Christo




Christo
Four Store Fronts Corner, 1964-65
Parts: 1,2,3,4
248 X 569 X61 cm, (8'1-1/2" X 18'8" X 2')
Galvinized metal, clear and colored plexiglas, masonite, canvas, and electric light.
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1965 Christo




Christo
Red Store Front (Project) 1965
102 X 122 X 6,5 cm, (40" X 48" X 2-1/2")
Wood, Plexiglas, fabric, electric light,
enamel paint and charcoal
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1965 Christo




Christo
Three Store Fronts, Project for the Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Holland 1965-66
122 X 96,5 X 5 cm, (48" X 38" X 2")
Pencil, wood, plexiglas, cardboard, paper, fabric, paint, charcoal, tape and electric light.
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1965 Christo




Christo
Show Window 1966
213 X 122 X 9 cm, (83-3/4" X 48" X 3-12")
Galvinzed metal, aluminum, plexiglas,
fabric, masonite and wood
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1966 Christo



Christo
Show Window 1966
213 X 122 X 9 cm, (83-3/4" X 48" X 3-12")
Galvinzed metal, aluminum, plexiglas,
brown wrapping paper, masonite, wood and tape.
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1966 Christo




Christo
Mastaba, Stacked Oil Barrels,
Project for MOMA, New York, 1968
Scale Model
20,3 X 51 X 61 cm, cm, (8" X 20" X 24")
Wood, enamel paint and plexiglas
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1968 Christo

Other Artworks Featuring Oil Barrels


Christo
Package 1961
91 X 30 X 24 cm, (35-3/4" X 11-3/4" X 9-1/2")
Red/brown fabric, twine and ropes
Photo: Eeva-Inkeri ©1961 Christo

Christo
Early Works

Between 1964 and 1967 Christo created a series of architectural scale sculptures in the shape of store fronts.

They were an extension of the 1962 Show Cases and the 1963 Show Windows. Unlike his previous works he used both the inner space and the outer space.

In commercial store fronts the exterior facade is made for interior display. In Christo's Store Fronts, the life size glass windows are partially covered, on the inside surface of the glass, with either fabric, paint or wrapping paper, therefore not allowing the standing or walking viewer to see the inside space, but still wonder about the content of the inside space which is illuminated and slightly visible.

The use of inner/outer space became evident in Christo and Jeanne-Claude's temporary environmental works of art such as: The Umbrellas, Japan-USA 1984-91, in The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979-2005, and in the artwork in progress Over The River, Project for the Arkansas River in Colorado which was started in 1992.

Before actually building a life-size Store Front, Christo always made preparatory sketches, collages, drawings and scale models.

The last one in the Store Fronts series was the Corridor Store Front, 1967. which covered a surface of 1,500 square feet.

"The showcases mark a decisive shift in Christo's development. They led to the store fronts and architectural scale, freeing him from dependency on preexistent objects and enabling him to package invented shapes and empty spaces of any size he wanted.... ...Like facades on a movie set, the store-front sculptures have real architectural scale without being real buildings. The perversity of having an architectural exterior displayed indoors is compounded by the enigmatically draped windows.... ...Although doors can admit symbolic interpretation, Christo's locked entrances remind us that we are shut out on our side of his store fronts....

...Yet the veiled windows attract the most attention. Throughout the ages, windows have held a special fascination for painters, because they provide spatial and temporal cross-references between indoor and outdoor settings and activities. In addition to contributing formal complexity, windows have a psychological quality that invites symbolic use...."

From Christo by David Bourdon.
Harry N. Abrams Publications, New York, 1970.

 

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