JR JR

French artist JR creates monumental public art projects that inspire passersby to ask questions and confront their own perceptions. After his first major project Portrait of a Generation (2004–06), which challenged stereotypes of Parisian suburban youth, he began working internationally. Whether it be pasting the faces of Israeli and Palestinian people on both sides of the Separation Wall (2007), the eyes of women on train cars in Kibera, Kenya (2009), or a giant toddler peeking over the US-Mexico border fence (2017), JR's larger-than-life installations amplify the stories of everyday people and foster dialogue.
JR also has a rigorous studio art practice, creating gallery artworks that are exhibited internationally. He has had major retrospectives at the Brooklyn Museum (2019) and Maison Européenne de la Photographie (2018) as well as shown artworks and installations at the Venice Biennale (2022), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2019), and the NGV Triennial (2020).
In 2017 JR started the Chronicles project, a series of epic participatory murals. Each work involves photographing and filming hundreds of people, alone or in groups, and then collaging their portraits together to create a highly-realistic composition that deals with a place or social issue.


In Autumn 2024, JR and his team moved their nomadic photo studio around Kyoto inviting passers-by to have their portraits taken and stories recorded. JR, The Chronicles of Kyoto, 2024 offers a window into the social dynamics and paradoxes in Kyoto and will be revealed at KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival in April 2025.