JR. ARTIST'S FREE REIN
We knew JR as a photographer, filmmaker, street artist specializing in monumental, participatory, and politically engaged works… Now he is also an interior decorator, and not in just any space: a car of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the mythical train owned by the Belmond hotel group, which connects Paris to Venice, but also to Portofino since last year and to Tuscany from next spring.
Named L'Observatoire, this first-ever carriage entirely customized by an artist is also the most prestigious and largest on the train. To remain true to the spirit of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, JR consulted archives and immersed himself in the work of those who built its legend, particularly the Art Deco designers René Prou and René Lalique. After three years of close collaboration with the finest French artisans (Atelier Philippe Allemand for marquetry, Michael Mayer for stained glass, etc.), he unveils a comprehensive, timeless work, conceived down to the smallest detail: a blend of a suite on rails worthy of a palace, a showroom of fine craftsmanship, and a cabinet of curiosities full of surprises.
JR chose to cover the bedroom in scalloped green leather and placed a freestanding bathtub a few steps from the bed. Inspired by astronomical observatories, he fitted the ceilings with oculus-shaped skylights to contemplate the passing landscapes. His XXL ceramic hand on the floor of the Carrara marble bathroom, his original photographs along the hallway, the curved furniture he designed for the living room with its fireplace, his selection of vinyl records and books from the publishing houses Gallimard, Penguin, and Adelphi, his installation of model trains in the tea room/speakeasy: everything here evokes the very personal universe of this multifaceted artist, a train enthusiast since childhood, who confirms: "With L'Observatoire, people can enter my imagination."
