Under the patronage of HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar Museums (QM) opened today a major show by celebrated French artist JR. in its gallery in Katara and will conclude in May 31.
JR is a French artist turned photographer that maintains anonymity. His work combines art and engaged actions through large-scale outdoor installations, films, photographs and videos, using the streetscape as his canvas and his inspiration, which he claims as the largest art gallery in the world.
Chief Strategic Planning Officer at Qatar Museums Khalid Yousef Al Ibrahim commented on the event and said "We are extremely proud and excited to present the first show in the Middle East of internationally acclaimed artist JR. This exhibition brings to life our commitment at Qatar Museums to display works by world class artists that inspire an indigenous culture of creativity and innovation. He expressed his hope that the exhibition can inspire young Qatari artists to exhibit their own work in the future. 
Since beginning his artistic career at the age of 17, JR has created monumental photographs that he pastes around the world, catching the attention of people who are not typical museum visitors. JR creates "Pervasive Art" that spreads uninvited on the buildings and slums around Paris, on the walls in the Middle East, on the broken bridges in Africa or the favelas in Brazil. He doesn't explain his work, allowing the subjects, protagonists, spectators and passers-by to raise their own questions and interpret his work themselves.
JR’s best known works include Face 2 Face (2007), which saw the artist paste onto both sides of the separation wall and in several Palestinian and Israeli cities, with large portraits of ordinary citizens with the same occupation of both ethnicities and religions, forcing the viewer to question who each individual person was and whether a difference could be made. In 2008, he launched a powerful project titled Women Are Heroes, that showcased poignant and powerful portraits of physical and emotional survival amidst atrocity, documenting the dignity of women in conflict zones and violent environments.

Source: QNA