JR

JR - Artist and urban activist

Class of ‘83, JR is a French artist known for using a photographic collage technique. His stage name comes from the initials of his first name, which is Jean René.

Born in Montfermeil, France, JR started his career in 2001 when he found a camera in the Paris metro and began to travel around Europe.

Since the beginning of his career, JR always wanted his art to be on the streets so it was accessible to everyone. 

“I have the largest art gallery imaginable: the walls of the whole world. So I attract the attention of those who do not usually go to museums”

JR loves to call himself a real urban activist whose works have been appreciated by a number of cities around the world such as New York, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and Florence.

JR: Site-specific style and artwork

JR’s art is made using a photographic collage technique through which he creates monumental installations of site-specific public artwork.

Due to his combination of originality and appropriation, JR always manages to distinguish himself by strong public connotation that leads him to create pieces of art with a great visual impact. They are always in different places and contexts whether it is the Pyramid of the Louvre or the maximum security prison in Tehachapi, California. 

JR is known worldwide for his anamorphosis. These are mathematically constructed illusions and visual games that allow you to deconstruct the main images depending on the position of the viewer. JR likes to call himself a “photograffeur”, in other words, a mixture of a photographer and a graffiti artist.

JR and Strozzi Palace

In 2021 JR put together an installation in Florence, Italy that showed a reinterpretation of the facade of Strozzi Palace. The renaissance palace is home to important cultural events of international importance and now the artwork of FR entitled La Ferita which means “the wound”. The work was intended to make both visitors of the palace and passers-by think about accessibility to spaces of culture during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

At a height of 92 feet and length of 108 feet, the installation looked as if someone slashed the facade of the Palace allowing one to see inside. The work was in JR’s typical style of a black-and-white photographic collage with an optical illusion. If observed from a precise point, the “wound” opened up and one could clearly see the inner workings of the Strozzi Palace. 

JR’s “wound” highlighted the position of cultural institutions in Italy in relation to the issue of accessibility in the age of Covid-19. The work symbolizes the pain of all cultural institutions, such as museums, libraries, and cinemas, when they were forced to limit access or shut down completely.

JR Farnese Palace

Also in 2021 and in Italy, JR went to Rome at Farnese Palace to create another impressive architectural work entitled Punto di Fuga which translates to “vanishing point”.

His artwork displayed the interior of the Palace showing Doric columns and Francesco Salviati’s frescoes to a statue of Hercules. 

JR Paris

JR managed to create a canyon in the centre of Paris and at the base of the most important monument in the city; the Eiffel Tower. The tower looks to be precariously perched on the canyon, hovering over a ravine with a busy city scene. 

This artwork is not the first JR has made in Paris. In fact, in 2016 and 2019 he made the iconic pyramid of the Louvre disappear and then emerge from a vast crater. 

JR and his projects

Due to his numerous collaborations and work all over the world, JR is known at an international level.

A distinctly famous piece is the collaboration with the New York City Ballet in 2014. The artist used the language of dance to tell the story of unrest in the Clichy-Montfermeil neighbourhood.

Another celebrated work of JR is from the abandoned hospital of Ellis Island that later inspired the creation of the short film entitled ELLIS starring Robert De Niro. 

In 2016, in addition to the project of vanishing the pyramid at the Louvre, JR installed multiple sculptures in Rio for the Olympic Games. They represented some of the athletes participating in the games to emphasize the beauty of sports. 

JR: WORKS FOR SALE WITH PRICES AND VALUE AT DEODATO ARTE

For those interested in JR prints and works for sale Deodato Arte offers a selection of the artist's works for sale online.

If interested in finding out about JR prices, value or which works will be on display at Deodato Arte Contemporary Art Gallery please do not hesitate to contact us by sending an e-mail to [email protected].