JR puts New York centre stage, from ballet to Ellis Island

Frieze fever may be over, but there’s still plenty of reason to linger in the English capital as Lazarides Rathbone gallery launches an exhibition by the Parisian artist JR. The self-styled photograffeur – a portmanteau that marries his photography and graffiti art practices – is presenting all-new works from a duet of recent series, Les Bosquets (2014-present) and Unframed Ellis Island (2014-present).
Spread over two floors of the London gallery, the show, entitled ‘Crossing’, pits large-scale colour prints against the enigmatic artist’s provocative black-and-white paper artworks.
The Unframed Ellis Island project explores New York’s historic gateway to the millions of immigrants that entered the United States. It’s a series that is sure to strike a chord for many of the exhibition’s visitors, echoing Europe’s spiralling migrant crisis. A short film (starring a suitably gravelly Robert De Niro and penned by Eric Roth) is a particularly haunting tribute to the landmark’s now-abandoned hospital, which has been taken over JR’s riveting art installations.
It’s a stark contrast to the spirit-lifting troupe of ballet dancers arcing fluidly across the second series on view. Created in collaboration with the New York City Ballet, Les Bosquets saw JR step into the choreographer’s seat for the first timewas inspired by his inaugural art project, Portrait of a Generation, and the 2005 riots in France.
To mark the London show, Phaidon is publishing the first major monograph on the artist, available for purchase now. Eschewing the traditional foreword, the new tome introduces JR’s story with a specially commissioned graphic novel by comic artist Joseph Remnant, and charts his meteoric rise from street artist to urban activist.
French artist JR recently unveiled all-new works from a duet of recent series, ’Les Bosquets’ (2014-present) and ’Unframed Ellis Island’ (2014-present), at Lazarides Rathbone gallery in London.
The ’Unframed Ellis Island’ project explores New York’s historic gateway to the millions of immigrants that entered the United States.
Watch the trailer for Ellis here, staring Robert De Niro, written by Eric Roth, and directed by JR
Spread over two floors of the London gallery, the show, entitled ‘Crossing’, pits large-scale colour prints against the artist’s provocative black-and-white paper artworks.
’28 Millimètres, Portrait of a generation, Les Bosquets, Eye See You, Montfermeil, France’, by JR, 2014
’28 Millimètres, Portrait of a generation, Les Bosquets, Jeté cambré, Montfermeil, France’, by JR, 2014
’Unframed Ellis Island’ is sure to strike a chord for many of the exhibition’s visitors, echoing Europe’s spiralling migrant crisis.
’Unframed, Czech grand mother in Ellis Island’, by JR, 2014. Courtesy of National Park Service, Statue of Liberty National Monument, USA
Installation view of ’Crossing’.
INFORMATION
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
‘Crossing’ runs until 12 November 2015
ADDRESS
Lazarides
11 Rathbone Place
London W1T 1HR
-
We bring you all the best bits from this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed
As car makers switch their allegiance to the sunny West Sussex countryside as a place to showcase their wares, a new generation of sports cars were sent running up that famous hill
-
Stay at Patina Osaka for a dose of ‘transformative luxury’ in western Japan
From nature-inspired interiors to sound-tracked cocktails and an unusually green setting, Patina Osaka is a contemporary urban escape that sets itself apart
-
12 photographers vie for Prix Pictet 2025, lenses firmly focused on sustainability
Prix Pictet is the world’s leading award for photography and sustainability. Here’s how the 2025 shortlist responded to this cycle’s theme, ‘Storm’
-
Architect Erin Besler is reframing the American tradition of barn raising
At Art Omi sculpture and architecture park, NY, Besler turns barn raising into an inclusive project that challenges conventional notions of architecture
-
The dynamic young gallerists reinvigorating America's art scene
'Hugging has replaced air kissing' in this new wave of galleries with craft and community at their core
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of society
A new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
‘Her pictures looked like pictures everybody knew were the truth’: Diane Arbus at the Armory
Matthieu Humery curates more than 400 of Arbus’ photographs at New York’s Park Avenue Armory – every picture she was known to have printed
-
Mystic, feminine and erotic: the power of Penny Slinger’s bodies as landscape
Artist Penny Slinger continues her exploration of the sacred, surreal feminine in a Santa Monica exhibition, ‘Meeting at the Horizon’
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this week
This week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, Divers
Geordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film