NEW YORK, NY.- Trace the conception and creation of JR’s monumental installation La Caverne du Pont Neuf, a transformative work that reimagines the historic bridge as a vast rocky grotto. Freely accessible to the city’s citizens and visitors alike, but only fleetingly. Conceived as a tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude on the 40th anniversary of The Pont Neuf Wrapped, the project continues JR’s exploration of public art as a shared, democratic experience.

Through preparatory sketches, collages, installation photography, and behind-the-scenes documentation, the book reveals how the landmark was transformed into an uncanny geological fantasy. The inclusion of earlier works featuring caves, trompe l’oeil, and architectural illusion situates this latest endeavor within JR’s headline-grabbing career. An interview conducted by Hans Ulrich Obrist with JR, Christo’s nephew and project director Vladimir Yavachev, and Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk explores artistic freedom, ambition, and the challenge of realizing large-scale public works outside traditional systems of sponsorship and control.

Ephemeral by nature, La Caverne du Pont Neuf is destined to disappear. This volume preserves the intertwined traces of its making while capturing the larger idea at the heart of JR’s work: that art can interrupt the day-to-day, reshape collective memory, and momentarily alter the way we see the world.

The artist

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.

“I’ve found a way to use walls to bring us together.” -- JR

The author

Hans Ulrich Obrist is the Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries in London. Prior to this, he was Curator of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since his first exhibition World Soup (The Kitchen Show) in 1991, he has curated more than 300 shows and has published extensively on art, architecture, and culture. In 2011 Obrist received the CCS Bard Award for Curatorial Excellence.

JR. La Caverne du Pont Neuf
Softcover with flaps, 9.8 x 13.6 in., 3.34 lb, 240 pages
ISBN 978-3-7544-0728-8
Edition: Multilingual (English, French)


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