While street artist Banksy is still being mysterious, his artwork has become even more famous lately and quite profitable too. Everyone knows at least one of his iconic graffiti. Over the years, I have become more familiar with his work, and while I enjoyed his previous exhibition at Lazinc Gallery in 2018, this one reinforced my fascination with the artist.
Banksy is now back in London with an “unauthorised exhibition” (meaning Banksy does not have anything to do with it) featuring many of his (now iconic) artworks, and it is certainly the most interesting I’ve seen about him.
Today, DOYOUSPEAKLONDON invites you to dive into Banksy’s subversive work!

Banksy, distinctive graffiti artist

I was quite excited to see this exhibition, presented as “the world’s largest collection of privately owned Banksy art”.
Graffiti has always fascinated me: illegal, but at the same time (especially when it comes to great artists) really interesting as an ephemeral expression of art and most of all, as an acerbic analysis of today’s society.
Banksy’s main characters (rats and monkeys) have become so familiar to me that when I’m in East London, I always eagerly look at every corner in the hope of seeing one of them.
This time, Bansky’s work is showcased in Covent Garden, with this so-called “unauthorized exhibition” as the artist himself did not participate in it, nor agreed to it.
What makes this exhibition so important is the number of artworks brought together. I was amazed to still discover new ones, as sharp as the ones I knew, still questioning our society and expressing anger and fear with a satirical approach.

Banksy’s largest private collection

The exhibition presents Banksy’s artwork chronologically, featuring “prints, canvasses, screenprints, sculptures, unique works, and limited-edition pieces mainly dated between the years 1997 to 2008”, the period when the artist has grown in popularity.
I knew Banksy had started his graffiti in Bristol and had his style well-defined from the start. What I learned at this exhibition though is the nerve he had to do well-targeted jokes, like this one below at The British Museum, infiltrating “the Peckham rock” and waiting for it to be spotted!

I loved his allusion to Cannes Festival with this stencil art exhibition he organized in 2008.

Ten years later, Banksy organized a memorable stunt in art history with his most famous creation, Girl with balloon, that made speak about him.

At the time (2006), I completely missed out on Banksy’s stunt against Paris Hilton’s debut album and was amused by the all story (below)!

This exhibition was very complete and well-detailed, it was a pleasure to retrace Banksy’s artistic life and see that he never lost his appetite for provocation and subversion!

This exhibition is a must-see for every great fan of graffiti! Whether you already know Banksy’s pieces of art (after all, let’s consider graffiti as art) or not, you will definitely enjoy his ability to illustrate the main society topics with a subversive eye…

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and found inspiration here. If you are planning to visit The Art of Banksy” soon (it is open until 21rst November 2021), please share your experience and opinion on DOYOUSPEAKLONDON’s blog!

To go further:
The Art of Banksy Unauthorized Exhibition: 50 Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LJ
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