Jr - New York

JR, a globally renowned artist, transforms public spaces into universal galleries through large-scale participatory projects, cinematic collaborations, and striking installations, with this book highlighting his impactful work in New York City. JR uses the street as a canvas for his monumental photographic collages. His participatory projects (28 Millimeters, Face 2 Face, …) involve local communities. He launched Inside Out, a worldwide project inviting everyone to express themselves through images. He also explores cinema (Visages, Villages with Agnès Varda, awarded in Cannes) and creates spectacular installations (Louvre, Rio Olympics). His committed art, somewhere between poetry and activism, transforms public space into a universal gallery.

This book puts New York in the spotlight. Since 2006, JR’s collages have marked the life of New York, and several of his most important projects have been set up in this cosmopolitan city: Unframed at Ellis Island, in collaboration with Robert de Niro (2014), The Chronicles of New York City in front of the Brooklyn Bridge (2024), or the immense collaborative collages, such as the one in Times square or Flatiron plaza. An introductory text by The New Yorker’s editorial director, Françoise Mouly, offers a fresh look at this work.

Author Biography

French artist JR transforms streets into open-air galleries with his monumental black-and-white photographic collages. Blending art, activism, and community, his global projects—like Inside Out, The Chronicles of New York City, and Ellis Island’s Unframed—turn public spaces into stages for untold stories. Collaborating with locals, he’s pasted portraits on favelas, conflict zones, and even the Louvre. His work crosses into film (Visages, Villages, co-directed with Agnès Varda) and large-scale spectacles (Rio Olympics, Paris’ Pyramid). With a mix of poetry and protest, JR makes art that’s both ephemeral and unforgettable—always asking: Can art change the world?