JR

JR (born 1983) is considered one of the most important street artists of the last 20 years, famous throughout the world for his projects combining photography, public art and social politics. The plight of migrants and refugees has long been part of JR’s concerns. For the Déplacé·e·s project, launched in 2022, he traveled to crisis zones ranging from war-torn Ukraine to the refugee camps of Mugombwa in Rwanda, Mbera in Mauritania, Cucuta in Colombia and Lesvos in Greece, drawing attention to the harsh conditions in which thousands of people find themselves today. By enlarging their portraits on huge banners, JR gives back an identity to those who are deprived of it. Published on the occasion of an exhibition in Turin gathering these portraits for the first time, Déplacé·e·s features a previously unpublished interview with JR by Arturo Galansino and Stéphane Malfettes.

Throughout the pandemic, cultural institutions have been forced to shut their doors to the public. Palazzo Strozzi in Florence has commissioned street artist JR (born 1983) to address this unfortunate reality. He has done so by transforming the facade of the Palazzo into a towering photographic collage installation that functions like an anamorphosis: when viewed from a particular vantage point, the distorted image reveals a courtyard, exhibition hall and library.
In this volume, JR offers the public a look inside that which, for now, is inaccessible. The Wound (La Ferita) is a poignant reflection on the wound endured by cultural institutions during the pandemic. The book includes a conversation between the artist and curator Arturo Galansino, in which they delve into the genesis and realization of this singular piece.

Over the past two decades, French artist JR has massively expanded the impact of public art through his ambitious projects that give visibility and agency to people around the world. Showcasing the full scope of the artist's career, JR: Chronicles accompanies the first major exhibition in North America of works by the French-born artist. Working at the intersections of photography, social engagement and street art, JR collaborates with communities by taking individual portraits, reproducing them at a monumental scale and wheat pasting them—sometimes illegally—in nearby public spaces.

This superbly produced volume traces JR's career from his early documentation of graffiti artists as a teenager in Paris to his large-scale architectural interventions in cities worldwide, to his more recent digitally collaged murals that create collective portraits of diverse publics. The centerpiece of the accompanying exhibition is The Chronicles of New York City, a new epic mural of more than 1,000 New Yorkers. Also included are previously unseen murals set in Brooklyn; Face 2 Face, diptychs of Israelis and Palestinians in Palestinian and Israeli cities; Women Are Heroes, featuring images of the eyes of women gazing back at their communities in numerous countries; The Gun Chronicles: A Story of America, JR's complex work on guns in America; and other equally famous works.

JR (born 1983) is best known for his monumental, wheat-pasted street portraiture projects. JR has carried out projects across the globe. He has shown in museums worldwide and has created site specific works for the Louvre, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the Centre Pompidou.

The photocollages of French artist JR (born 1983) have populated streets and skylines all over the world. But he decided to outdo himself at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio by creating what he called "his craziest work ever": the Giants series. Perched on scaffolding, gigantic athletes leaped over abandoned buildings and swan-dived into the ocean. And, while his Giants were on show, the "Inside/Out" photo booth was zapping out supersized prints of enthusiastic games-goers.

This volume explores the history of JR's work in Brazil, beginning in 2008 with his work in Rio's favelas and continuing today at the Casa Amarela, a culture and education center for kids. Focusing particularly on the Giants series, the book offers insights into how the artist transforms places and spaces by focusing on the daily lives of their inhabitants.