Born in 1983 in Paris, France
Lives and works between Paris, France and New York, New York, USA
JR works at the intersection of photography, street art, filmmaking and social engagement. Over the last two decades he has developed multiple public projects and numerous site-specific interventions in cities all over the world: from buildings in the slums around Paris, to the walls in the Middle East and Africa or the favelas of Brazil. His recent solo exhibition, JR: Chronicles at the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, USA (2019) has since traveled to Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (2021), Groninger Museum, Netherlands (2021), Kunsthalle Munich, Germany (2022) and Lotte Museum, Seoul, South Korea (2023). Other solo projects include Les Enfants d'Ouranos at the Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill (2023), The Chronicles of San Francisco at SFMOMA, San Francisco (2019) and Momentum, la mécanique de l’épreuve at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (2018).
JR is also the director of three full-length documentaries: Women Are Heroes (2011); the Academy Award-nominated Faces and Places (2017), co-directed by Agnès Varda; and most recently, Paper and Glue (2021).
solo shows
2023
- La Ferita, Galleria Continua, Rome, Italy
- Les Enfants d’Ouranos, Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY, USA
- Women, Pace Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
- JR: Chronicles, Lotte Museum, Seoul, South Korea
- O papel da mão, Nara Roesler Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Les Enfants d'Ouranos, Perrotin New York, NY, USA
- Déplacé.e.s, Galleria d'Italia, Turino, Italy
2022
- JR: Chronicles, Kunsthalle Munich, Germany
- Ongoing Project Déplacé.e.s, Rwanda, Mauritania, Ukraine
2021
- JR: Chronicles, Groninger Museum, Netherlands
- Contretemps, Perrotin, Tokyo, Japan
- Temporary installation, Giza Pyramids, Egypt
- JR: Chronicles, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
- Temporary installation, Esplanade des droits de l'homme, Trocadéro, Paris, France
- Temporary installation, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy
2020
- TEHACHAPI, Perrotin, Paris, France
- Omelia Contadina, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
2019
- Patamar, Galeria Nara Roesler, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- JR: Chronicles, Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY, USA
- The Chronicles of New York City – Sketches, Perrotin, New York, NY, USA
- The Chronicles of San Francisco, SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Temporary installation, JR at the Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
- The Chronicles of San Francisco - Sketches, Pace, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Unveiling, Perrotin, Seoul, South Korea
2018
- MOMENTUM. La Mécanique de l'Épreuve, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France
- Horizontal, Perrotin New York, NY, USA
- Temporary installation, Amor Fati, J1, Marseille, France
- Temporary mural installation outside the Armory, Pier 94, New York, USA
- Giants - Body of Work, Lazinc Gallery, London, UK
2017
- Chateau La Coste, Le Puy Ste Réparade, France
- Chroniques de Clichy-Montfermeil, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
- Projection Wrinkles of the City Istanbul, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
- Temporary installation in situ "Kikito" at the Mexican/US border
- The Wrinkles of the City, Istanbul – Body of Work, Springmann Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2016
- Project for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, in situ installations, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Temporary installation, JR at the Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
- Projet pour la Galerie des enfants, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
2015
- Ghosts of Ellis Island, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong, China
- A Survey Exhibition, HOCA, Hong Kong Contemporary Art Foundation, Hong Kong, China
- Uprising - An Inside Out project, Centro de Arte Contemporaneo, CAC Malaga, Spain
- Unframed : La Voix du Nord, Lille, France
- DECADE. Portrait d'une génération, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
- JR, Lazarides, London, UK
- JR Black and White Night, Nuit blanche, Toronto, Canada
- JR's Picture Show. 24 Frames per Second, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
- ELLIS, Pop up exhibition & screening, Orchard Street, New York, USA
- ELLIS, Pop up exhibition & screening, Miami Design District, Miami, USA
- The Standing March, COP 21 Project, JR and Darren Aronofsky, Paris, France
2014
- Au Panthéon!, Paris, France
- Unframed Ellis Island; permanent installation in Ellis Island, New York, USA
- JR, Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany
- Close up, Magda Danysz Gallery, Shanghai
- Power Station of Art Museum, Shanghai
- New York City Ballet, New York, USA
- Contemporary Art Museum, Dallas, USA
2013
- JR Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, USA
- Permanent installation at Friche de Belle de Mai, Marseille, France
- JR, Watari Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- Inside Out Project, Times Square
- The Wrinkles of the City, Action in Berlin, Germany
2012
- The Wrinkles of the City, Action in Cuba, USA
- Pattern, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong
- Inside Out Project, Action in Haïti
2011
- Wall & Paper, Galerie Perrotin, The M Building, Miami, USA
- Encrages, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
- Inside Out Project, Action in Brooklyn, USA
- The Wrinkles of the City, Action in Los Angeles, USA
2009
- Women are Heroes, Installation at Ile Saint-Louis, invited by Pavillon de l'Arsenal, Paris, France
- Women are Heroes, Casa França Brazil, Rio di Janeiro, Brazil
- Women are Heroes, Action in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2008
- Portrait of a Generation, Installation at The Tate Modern, London, UK
- Installation, invited by The Rath Museum, Geneva, Switzerland
- Women are Heroes, Action in Brussels, Belgium
- Women are Heroes, Action in Slum of Kiberia, Nairobi, Kenya
- Women are Heroes, Action in Favela Morro Da Providencia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Women are Heroes, New Delhi, Action in Jaipur, India
- The Wrinkles of the City, Action in Carthagene, Spain
2007
- Face2Face, Action in Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Separation wall / Security fence, Israel-Palestine
2006
- Installation, Paris Town Hall Square, Paris, France
- Installation, La Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris France
- Installation, Espace des Blancs Manteaux, Paris, France
2004
- Portrait of a Generation, Action in Les Bosquets ghetto, Montfermeil, Paris, France
group shows
2023
- War is over! Peace has not yet begun, Fondazione Imago Mundi, Treviso, Italy
- City As Studio, curated by Jeffrey Deitch, K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong
- Mères d'exil, La Cité Mirroir, Liège, Belgium
2022
- Forever Is Now, Art d’Egypte, Giza, Cairo, Egypt
- Rencontrons-nous à la gare, Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
- This is Ukraine: Defending Freedom, curated by Björn Geldhof, PinchukArtCentre, Venice, Italy
2021
- W|ALLS: Defend, Divide, and the Divine, The Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, USA
- Truc À Faire, curated by JR, Galleria Continua, Paris, France
2020
- NGV Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
2019
- Reflections, curated by Matt Black, Gana Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
- W|ALLS: Defend, Divide, and the Divine, Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Refuge, 21c Museum, Bentonville, AR, USA
- JR, Adrian Piper, Ray Johnson, Museum Frieder Burda | Salon Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- JR: Unframed Baden Baden, Ensemble. Centre Pompidou - Museum Frieder Burda, Baden Banden, Germany
2016
- Post No Bills: Public Walls as Studio and Source, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY, USA
2015
- Tu dois changer ta vie, Tripostal, Lille, France
- Open Source: Engaging Audiences in Public Space, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Bonjour la France, Seoungnam Art Centre & Goyang Culture Foundation, Seongnam & Goyang, Korea, Curated by Sunhee Choi, Korea
2014
- #Street Art, l'innovation au coeur du mouvement, Fondation EDF, Paris, France
2013
- L'amour atomique, Palais des Beaux Arts, Dinard, France
- Happy Birthday Galerie Perrotin / 25 ans, Tripostal, Lille, France
- Choices, Magda Danysz, Shanghai, China
2012
- Festival Images, Photobooth installation, Vevey, Switzerland`
- The Wrinkles of the City Biennial of La Habana, Cuba
- Art & Toys - Collection Selim Varol, Me Collectors Room, Berlin, Germany
2011
- Shanghai ! La tentation de l'Occident, Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez, Bordeaux, France
- Paris-Delhi-Bombay, Photobooth installation at Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
- Art In the Streets, MOCA Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Emirati Expressions, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Les Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France
2010
- Viva la revolucion : A dialogue with the Urban Landscape, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA, USA
- Festival Images, Elysee Museum, Vevey, Switzerland
- The Wrinkles of the City, Contemporary art Biennal, Shanghai, China
- Springmann Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany
2009
- Les Rencontres photographiques d’Arles, Arles, France
2007
- Venise Bienniale, Arsenal , Venise, Italy
- FOAM Museum of Photography, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Les Rencontres Photographiques d'Arles, Arles, France
2006
- Clichy-sans-Clichés , Clichy-sous-Bois, France
- Milk, Saskatoon, Canada
- The Orphanage, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- 11 Spring, New York, NY, USA
public collections
- Château La Coste, Aix-en- Provence, France
- Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, USA
- The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, USA
- The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
awards
2011
- TED Prize
BOOKS & FILMS
2021
- Paper & Glue, directed by JR
2017
- Visages Villages (Faces Places), release of the documentary by Agnès Varda and JR, selected and screened out of competition during 2017 Cannes Film Festival & César & Oscar 2018 nominee
2015
- The Standing March, COP 21 Project, JR and Darren Aronofsky, Paris, France
- Ellis, 2015, directed by JR, written by Eric Roth, starring Robert de Niro
- Les Bosquets, 2015, directed by JR
- JR : l'Art peut il changer le monde ?, published by Phaidon,2015
- Dans l'objectif de JR. Pour les 11-15 ans, published by Pyramides Editions, 2015
- Wrinkles of the City. A project by JR, Published by Editions Alternatives, 2015
2014
- Rivages, 2014, directed by Guillaume Cagniard
2013
- Wrinkles of the City - Havana, Cuba, 2013, directed by JR & Jose Parla
- Inside Out Project, 2013, Release of JR's second film, produced by HBO (english)
- The Wrinkles of the City, Los Angeles, Catalogue published by Damiani, 2013 (english & french)
- Inside Out Japan, Catalogue published by Watari Museum, Tokyo, 2013 (english & japanese)
2012
- The Wrinkles of the City, Cuba Catalogue published by Damiani, 2012 (english)
2011
- Women are Heroes Release of JR's first film, selected at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival
- 28 MM, Catalogue published by Editions Alternatives, 2011 (french)
- The Wrinkles Of The City, Shanghai, Catalogue published by Drago, 2011 (english)
- Women Are Heroes, Catalogue published by Editions Alternatives, 2011 (english & french)
