Endommagée par le vent, « La Caverne du Pont-Neuf » de JR voit son ouverture reportée sine die
JR's ambitious installation "La Caverne du Pont-Neuf," which was set to transform Paris's oldest bridge into a giant mineral cave, has been damaged by a strong wind gust on June 2, 2026, just days before its scheduled public opening on June 6. The textile envelope lifted in several places, exposing the white inflatable structure beneath, prompting the Atelier JR and the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation to postpone the opening indefinitely while engineering experts investigate the cause.
The delay affects one of the year's most spectacular art projects—a 120-meter-long, 18-meter-high trompe-l'oeil rock grotto inspired by the quarries that supplied stone for the Pont-Neuf. Conceived as a homage to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 1985 wrapping of the same bridge, the work involved 800 people and weeks of bridge closure. The incident highlights the experimental nature of monumental in situ art, which remains vulnerable to weather and unforeseen engineering challenges, while also underscoring the project's reliance on private funding in line with Christo's philosophy.