Banksy
Biography
THE INFAMOUSLY ANONYMOUS BANKSY USES SPRAY PAINT AND STENCILING TECHNIQUES TO ADDRESS COMMERCIAL, POLITICAL, AND CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN GORILLA STREET ART INSTALLATIONS.
BANKSY, ONE OF THE MOST WELL-KNOWN CONTEMPORARY STREET ARTISTS OF TODAY, FIRST GARNERED FAME FOR HIS STREET-ART GRAFFITI. HIS WORK FIRST APPEARED ON THE WALLS OF LONDON’S SHORE DITCH DISTRICT DURING THE 1990S, AND HAS SINCE GONE ON TO PLACE IMAGES ON THE SIDES OF HUNDREDS OF BUILDINGS AND BILLBOARDS INTERNATIONALLY. HIS WORKS HAVE MAINTAINED POPULARITY LARGELY DUE TO THEIR RECOGNIZABLE STYLIZED ICONOGRAPHY AND HIS INFAMOUS UNDER-THE-RADAR MYSTIQUE. HIS 2010 FILM “EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP,” WHICH FEATURED STREET AND POP ARTIST MR. BRAINWASH, WAS A SUCCESSFUL HIT. BANKSY HAS ALSO SECRETLY ADDED HIS OWN PIECES TO MUSEUMS, SUCH AS THE TATE MODERN IN LONDON AND THE LOUVRE IN PARIS, SMUGGLING THEM IN DISCREETLY AND AFFIXING THEM TO A WALL. IN 2015, BANKSY CREATED A LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATION ENTITLED ‘DISMALAND BEMUSEMENT PARK,’ AN IMMERSIVE DYSTOPIAN AND FULLY FUNCTIONAL AMUSEMENT PARK THAT FEATURED POLITICAL COMMENTARY ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH, SEXISM, AND THE UK GOVERNMENT. THE PARK FEATURED 58 PIECES FROM OTHER ARTISTS AND 10 NEW ARTWORKS BY BANKSY. AMONG THE ARTIST’S MOST FAMOUS STUNTS INCLUDE HIS SHREDDED PAINTING: WHEN A PAINTING BY BANKSY WAS SOLD AT AN AUCTION FOR $1.4 MILLION IN 2018, A MECHANISM WAS TRIGGERED TO CAUSE THE ARTWORK TO PARTIALLY DESTROY ITSELF, RESULTING IN A NEW PIECE TITLED LOVE IN THE BIN (2018). IN ADDITION TO HIS REGULAR GRAFFITI PRACTICE, BANKSY CREATES WORKS FOR SEVERAL CHARITIES, AND CONSISTENTLY OPENS EXHIBITIONS TO WIDE AUDIENCES. BANKSY CURRENTLY LIVES AND WORKS IN ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM.
Works
