Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
French artist JR has transformed Paris’ Pont Neuf into a temporary installation designed as a tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their 1985 project The Pont Neuf Wrapped.
Titled La Caverne du Pont Neuf, and scheduled to open from June 6 to 28, the installation will reinterpret the city’s oldest bridge as a large-scale cavernous environment accessible free of charge.
Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
Engineering and fabrication for the installation are being led by Air Toiles Concept, who are developing the inflatable architectural structure, tunnel system, printed fabric skin, and safety infrastructure for the project. Composer Thomas Bangalter has additionally been commissioned to develop the project’s sound environment.
Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
Image credit: Charlotte Abramow © 2026 Atelier JR
The installation will also incorporate an augmented reality component developed in collaboration with Snap’s AR Studio Paris. Visitors will be able to access the experience via mobile devices or Spectacles AR glasses, which will be available through free online reservations and on-site sessions.
Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
“My vision for this project is rooted in both the past and present of this iconic bridge,” JR noted. “I once was also very inspired by the artistic vision of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and I share their idea that the mission of art is to make the public think — or rethink about the familiar.”
Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
“The debate that a project in a public space can provoke is of equal value to its artistic realization,” JR added. “Art is a transformation and a way of renewing the way we look at the world around us. Through the dream of La Caverne du Pont Neuf, this is what I hope to make possible in Paris.”
Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
Image credit: Éléa Jeanne Schmitter © 2026 Atelier JR
La Caverne du Pont Neuf continues a body of work JR began during the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring social fragmentation and collective isolation.
Earlier projects in this series include La Ferita in Florence, Punto de Fuga in Rome, and La Nascita in Milan, as well as Retour à la Caverne at the Palais Garnier in Paris in 2023.
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