JR
NYC Ballet
2014
Lithographie en 14 couleurs réalisée à l'aide d'une machine Marinoni
87 × 77 cm
Arianee token ID
910532707
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About the artwork
With NYC Ballet, created in 2014, JR explores the relationship between movement, collective bodies, and illusion through a poetic composition inspired by dance and performance. The image depicts dozens of dancers arranged around and within the shape of a human eye, creating a hypnotic visual structure that merges choreography with photography. The bodies appear suspended across a crumpled monochrome surface, transforming the eye into both a symbol of perception and a living architectural space. Through this delicate interplay between scale, movement, and composition, JR creates a work that feels simultaneously intimate and monumental. Produced in collaboration with the New York City Ballet universe, the artwork reflects JR’s ongoing fascination with public performance, collective participation, and the transformation of photography into immersive visual experiences. The subtle contrast between the softness of the figures and the textured background reinforces the dreamlike quality of the composition.
Expert opinion
NYC Ballet belongs to a particularly refined and sought-after body of work by JR, where the artist moves beyond large-scale urban interventions to explore more intimate and conceptual compositions linked to dance, movement, and human interaction. The technical sophistication of the lithographic process, produced using a Marinoni press, highlights the importance of craftsmanship within the work and gives the piece a strong material presence. The composition itself is highly recognizable within JR’s practice, combining photography, installation aesthetics, and performative choreography into a single image. Works connected to JR’s collaborations with dancers and cultural institutions occupy a distinct place within his career and are appreciated for their visual elegance, rarity, and crossover between contemporary art, photography, and performance.
About the artist
JR (1983) is a major artist on the contemporary art scene, working at the intersection of photography, street art, cinema and social engagement. He has worked on numerous public projects over the past two decades, and his works have been shown in cities all over the world: on buildings in the slums around Paris, on walls in the Middle East and Africa, and on favelas in Brazil. Recent exhibitions include "Chronicles at the Saatchi Gallery in London" (2021), "The Chronicles of San Francisco at SFMOMA in San Francisco" (2019) and "Momentum, la mécanique de l'épreuve at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris" (2018).
JR is also the director of three feature-length documentaries: Women Are Heroes (2011); the Oscar-nominated Visages Villages (2017), co-directed by Agnès Varda; and most recently, Paper and Glue (2021).
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