The Cave Sketches: JR's free exhibition at Perrotin Gallery — Our Photos

What if the oldest bridge in Paris becomes, for a few weeks, the setting of a monumental hallucination? With Les Esquisses de la Caverne, a free exhibition at Galerie Perrotin in Paris, from June 5 to July 25, 2026, JR pulls back the curtain on the making of his latest Parisian showpiece. Presented in parallel with La Caverne du Pont Neuf, a monumental installation on view from June 6 to 28, 2026, it offers a chance to see the behind-the-scenes of this spectacular project conceived for Paris’s oldest bridge. Whether you’re starting or ending a walk on the Pont-Neuf, this gallery visit provides a different perspective on the work, through its preparatory drawings and its plastic research.

La Caverne du Pont Neuf: JR's giant installation reveals itself first from the outside — our photos
The Pont Neuf keeps evolving. Driven by JR, Paris’s oldest bridge is lining up to host La Caverne du Pont Neuf, a monumental installation conceived as an open-air immersive cavern. Optical illusions, inflatable structures, and light effects will transform the monument into a temporary mineral fault. A spectacular experience to discover from June 6 to 28, 2026, in the very heart of the capital. Opening postponed. [Read more]

With La Caverne du Pont Neuf, JR temporarily turns the bridge into a vast grotto of printed canvas measuring 120 meters long, 20 meters wide and 18 meters high, accessible to the public day and night. The artist signs here a colossal trompe-l'œil that pays homage to Pont-Neuf wrapped by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1985, while extending his monumental interventions at the Louvre, at the Opéra de Paris, and on Italian façades. Inspired by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the installation playfully challenges our relationship with images: do we believe what we see, or do we see what we are willing to believe? With a sound design by Thomas Bangalter, former Daft Punk member, the illusion deepens still further.

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The heart of the exhibition Les Esquisses de la Caverne lies in the creative process. JR outlines the steps that led to the final installation: photographs of the Pont-Neuf shot from various angles, drawings of mineral forms inspired by mountainous or underwater landscapes, cutouts, collages, and compositions. These elements are mounted on zinc plates salvaged from Parisian rooftops, a medium that roots the works in the very material of the city.

Thoughts treated as standalone works, these sketches reveal how a monumental idea takes shape before it enters public space. They reflect JR's taste for montage, the juxtaposition of fragments and the transformation of reality. Gratuite, the exhibition The Sketches of the Cavern speaks to both contemporary-art lovers and curious visitors who want to extend the experience of La Caverne du Pont Neuf and better understand the birth of this Parisian installation.