JR Makes Lisbon Debut with 'Through My Window'
On view at Underdogs Gallery through April 19.
At the heart of JR’s practice is a call to social transformation. Whether its creating a Louvre-based optical illusion or a muralist intervention at California’s high-security Tehachapi prison, the French artist spotlights spaces of collective significance with the faces of those who inhabit them, looking to scale as his weapon of choice.
Now, JR is making his Lisbon debut with Through My Window, his latest solo exhibition at Underdogs Gallery, helmed by Alexandre Farto better known as Vhils. Running through April 19, the retrospective-style show brings together 36 lithographs from the artist’s own collection, chronicling his past large-scale installations.
A self-described “photograffeur” – a portmanteau of “photographer” and “graffiti artist” in French – JR has spent the last several years flyposting massive black-and-white portraits in unexpected places, from refugee camps to city streets. His work challenges borders, both literal and metaphorical, always circling back to one urgent question: can art change the world?
Underdogs Gallery
R. Fernando Palha 56,
1950-132 Lisboa, Portugal
