WHAT? JR’s Outposts 

WHERE? Perrotin Gallery London, Brook’s Mews, London W1K 4HR

WHEN?  Now until 3rd May.  Free to visit 

WHY GO?  For edgy innovation. With a name like JR, you would be permitted to expect something wildly creative on the art front.  And that is exactly what you get from JR (Jean-Rene), the quirky French street artist / photographer.  His work stretches the imagination.

Fifteen of JR’s artworks are exhibited in the newly configured gallery below Claridge’s ArtSpace Café, a great meeting spot for power house cultural chats.

This thought provoking exhibition references the plight of refugee children and follows on from a series of striking aerial banners he conceived known as Déplacé-e-s, French for displaced people. 

On the walls and on film, this is a small show but big on an issue that the world is all too familiar with right now.  His montage imagery, often from a child’s perspective, stirs the emotions.

JR describes himself as an ’artist until I find a proper job’, which speaks volumes about his mindset and attitude to creativity.

Ever since he caused a stir at Tate Modern in 2008 with his first London show, JR has become a cultural icon amongst street art fans, it does therefore feel a tad bizarre to view him in such a bourgeois setting!

IN THE KNOW  Founded in 1990, Perrotin now has galleries in eight major countries and participates in leading art fairs around the world.

Their new London Gallery will exhibit a rotating roster of artists and houses an inspiring new book shop, a veritable shrine to contemporary art, with gifts to tempt dedicated collectors.