JR

Key facts

Born

1983, French

Movements

• Street Art
• Contemporary

• What is JR known for?+

  JR is known for his large-scale photographic installations in public areas. His projects, such as "Face 2 Face" and "Women Are Heroes", bring human stories and perspectives to a wide audience.
• What is JR's most famous work?+

  It is difficult to name JR's single most famous work, as his practice involves many large-scale, temporary installations in public spaces. These projects often gain attention for their social commentary and community involvement. Some of his best-known projects include "Women Are Heroes" (2008), in which he pasted large-format portraits of local women on buildings in areas facing conflict, and "Face 2 Face" (2007), where he pasted portraits of Israelis and Palestinians facing each other in several cities. These works are temporary; they are photographed, documented, and then weather away. Other notable projects include his work at the Louvre in Paris, where he created an anamorphic illusion making the pyramid disappear, and his installations at the US-Mexico border. His films, such as "Visages Villages" (Faces Places), co-directed with Agnès Varda, have also received acclaim.
• What should I know about JR's prints?+

  JR's prints often incorporate elements from his large-scale public art projects, which involve photographic images installed in urban spaces worldwide. He is known for pasting enormous black-and-white photographic portraits onto buildings, bridges, and trains, engaging with local communities and raising awareness about social issues. His printmaking extends this practice, translating the scale and impact of his outdoor work into more accessible formats. The prints frequently feature portraits of ordinary people, often anonymous individuals from marginalised communities. These images are presented in a way that challenges viewers to confront issues of identity, representation, and social justice. JR's prints can be seen as an extension of his interest in illusionism; something looking like real metal, real shine, or real plastic but is just paint. His work often plays with the contrast between colour and non-colour, creating a sense of momentum.
• What style or movement did JR belong to?+

  JR is a contemporary artist whose work resists easy categorisation within established art movements. Some consider his output as a form of urban art, but this label may not fully capture the scope of his practice. His approach involves a direct engagement with reality, using art as a means of communication and rapid response to societal issues. This aligns with a broader "arts sans frontières" approach, similar to organisations that work on an emergency footing. JR's work shares some common ground with conceptualism; the concepts behind the art are more important than traditional aesthetic concerns. Some observers link his work to postmodernism, because he incorporates a variety of styles, ideas and cultural trends. He is known for wheatpasting large-scale photographic images in public spaces, creating installations that transform perceptions of the environment.
• What techniques or materials did JR use?+

  JR is known for his large-scale photographic installations, often in public spaces. His technique combines photography and street art. He prints very large format black-and-white photographs, often portraits of local people. These images are then pasted onto buildings, trains, bridges, and other urban surfaces. The choice of location is a significant part of his artistic process, as the environment interacts with the image. JR's work is ephemeral by design. The pasted images are exposed to the elements, and they fade, tear, and change over time. This deterioration is integral to the message of his art, reflecting themes of impermanence and the passage of time. The scale of his installations is also important, creating a spectacle that draws attention and encourages engagement. He often collaborates with communities, involving local residents in the creation and installation of his pieces.
• What was JR known for?+

  JR is a French artist known for large-scale photographic installations in public spaces. Starting in the early 2000s, he pasted enormous black-and-white portraits of local residents onto urban surfaces, such as buildings and trains. His practice often involves community engagement and aims to raise questions about social issues, identity, and perception. One of his well-known projects is "Women Are Heroes", in which he pasted images of women's faces on buildings in impoverished communities. Another is "Inside Out", a global participatory art project where people can take and share their portraits to support a cause. JR's anonymity is also a defining aspect of his persona; he typically appears in public wearing sunglasses and a hat. This allows the focus to remain on his art and the messages it conveys, rather than on his personal identity.
• When did JR live and work?+

  JR is a contemporary artist, born in France in 1983. He is known primarily for his large-scale photographic installations in public spaces. JR's practice involves pasting enormous black-and-white photographs, often portraits of local people, onto buildings and other urban surfaces. These works are intended to be temporary, interacting with their environment and the communities that inhabit them. His work often deals with themes of social identity, community, and the power of images in public space. JR gained international attention with projects like "Face 2 Face" in 2007, where he pasted portraits of Israelis and Palestinians side by side in several cities. Another project, "Women Are Heroes", brought attention to the dignity of women living in dangerous areas. His work continues to evolve, using photography as a tool for engagement and dialogue.
• Where can I see JR's work?+

  JR's work has been exhibited in a number of museums internationally. In the United States, you can view pieces at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles; the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis; the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, Florida; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond; the Wolfsonian at Florida International University in Miami Beach; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Field Museum in Chicago; the High Museum in Atlanta; and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In Canada, JR's work has been shown at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. In the United Kingdom, you might see JR's art at the Bakelite Museum in Williton; the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery in Brighton; the Geffrye Museum in London; the Manchester Art Gallery in Manchester; the National Museums of Scotland, Royal Museum, in Edinburgh; and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Other locations include the Kunsthaus Zurich in Switzerland; the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, Japan; and the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin.
• Where was JR from?+

  Jean Arp was born in Strasbourg. At the time of his birth, in 1886, Strasbourg was part of Germany. Today, Strasbourg is in France. Arp trained as an artist in his hometown, as well as in Weimar, Germany, and Paris, France. He became known for his surreal style, creating sculptures, poetry, and paintings. In 1912, he contributed drawings to Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) in Munich, an artist group that created expressive, abstract art. During World War I, he lived in Zürich, Switzerland, where he helped develop Dada. In 1926, Arp, his wife Sophie, and another artist designed the inside of Café Aubette, a building in Strasbourg with dance halls and restaurants; they covered the walls in colourful shapes.
• Who did JR influence?+

  The question of influence is complex. It is more than just easily discernible similarities. It involves a search for traces, quotations, and manipulations. Gustave Courbet's art has resonated with artists working in different styles and media. Modern painters such as Paul Cézanne and de Kooning identified Courbet as a source of inspiration. Cézanne's Bridge at Maincy (1879-80) invokes Courbet's Shaded Stream (1865). The connections to Courbet can be rooted in technique, such as his use of the palette knife. The search for iconographic sources leading to Courbet can yield surprising results. Jeff Wall's photograph The Drain (1989) has iconographic roots in Courbet, via Cézanne. Wall makes art from art, informed by pictorial sources. Gerhard Richter's work defies traditional conventions, like Courbet's. Richter's November is akin to Courbet's Burial at Ornans in scale and ambition. The connections between Courbet's use of the palette knife and Richter's technique of layering present compelling parallels.
• Who influenced JR?+

  JR has cited a range of artists as influences, including figures associated with Cubism, Constructivism, and the Bauhaus. Early on, JR was impressed by a Cubist still life by Braque. Through Braque, he came to understand Picasso, then Cézanne and van Gogh. He admired Gauguin's use of colour, but was not convinced by his forms or symbolic vision. Later, JR wanted to "dynamise" the works of Mondrian, but realised Mondrian had already solved that problem himself with *Broadway Boogie Woogie*. He found the approach of Moholy-Nagy very important, and also discovered Calder, Marcel Duchamp, and Gabo. JR felt he should take the elements these artists had revealed further, attempting to answer the questions they had posed but not resolved. JR was drawn to the spirit of Bauhaus art, and to Klee's works that explored perspective from various points of view. He also discovered Albers, Mondrian, and Malevich. He disliked the Expressionist Kandinsky, but admired the Constructive Kandinsky of the Bauhaus period.
• Who was JR?+

  JR is a contemporary artist known for photo collages and large-scale public installations. Born in France, JR began his artistic career as a teenager, documenting his experiences with graffiti art. He is known for pasting enormous black and white photographic images in public spaces. His work often combines photography and street art, engaging with social issues and community involvement. JR's projects have appeared in cities worldwide, aiming to transform urban environments and promote dialogue. He often collaborates with local residents, using their images and stories to create site-specific installations. These works address themes such as identity, memory, and social inequality. JR's practice extends beyond traditional art spaces, seeking to make art accessible to a wider audience. His large-scale installations have gained international attention, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship with public space and the people who inhabit it.