Christo and Jean Claude

I have been a fan of Christo and Jean Claude's work for a long while now. In 2005, I took the bus up from Chinatown DC to Chinatown NY when The Gates were up. Really special trip.

So I was really excited to find this picture and note in our hallway while staying at the Chelsea.


it reads...
Dear Chelsea Hotel,
In 1964 a Paris gallerist told us that when we were going to go to NYC she said artists always stay at the Chelsea Hotel. We came for an exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery and needed to construct the storefront piece for the show in our room, as we had no money to rent a studio. Since we were from France, we weren't sure if this was allowed so Christo would use his hand saw late at night. One of the storefronts needed a doorknob and we loved the one on our bathroom door, so we exchanged that one for one from the local hardware store. The piece is now in the collection of the Hirshorn Museum in DC.

Christo and Jean Claude, Artists

I just thought this was so fun. I've seen the storefront they speak of at the Hirshorn here in DC. It's actually rarely out on view.