German
Basic data
Banksy is one of the most famous street artists of the present who keeps his identity anonymous to this day. He is best known for his distinctive technique of spraying paint through pre-made stencils onto painting surfaces.
- Born: probably 1974
- Place of birth: Bristol, England
- Nationality: British
- Era: Contemporary art
- Stylistic direction: street art
Banksy Art For Sale
Biography
The street artist acting under the pseudonym Banksy is believed to have been born in Bristol in the mid-1970s. More detailed information about his private life and his identity are not known to the public.
Due to his anonymity, Banksy's biography is mostly reconstructed on the basis of his works. Thus, his first works were created in Bristol and London in the 1990s. In Bristol, he is said to have been a member of the DryBreadZ crew from 1990 to 1994 and at that time moved increasingly in the circles of the underground scene there. He found inspiration for his work from other local street artists. In 1997, he finally created his first major mural, "The Mild Mild West" in Bristol. It shows a teddy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail in the direction of approaching police officers. Hereby Banksy alluded to the conflicts between police officers and visitors of illigal raves at that time.
From 2000, he changed his technique and developed his distinctive stencil graffiti. He himself claims that he found the idea for it during a flight from the police under a garbage truck, when he discovered there the serial number applied with stencils. The technique, developed due to time constraints, became his trademark.
With the beginning of the new millennium, Banksy also increasingly showed his work in exhibitions organized by himself. Nevertheless, he remained critical of the art market and shows this again and again with different actions. Thus, the artist recently attracted great media attention when in 2018 a work of art of his destroyed itself at an auction of Sotheby's before the eyes of the astonished auction audience.
Today, Banky's socially critical works are an integral part of the contemporary art world and can be found in cities all over the world.
Exhibitions
- 25.06.21 - 25.07.21 Wo Ist Gott? Christliche Ikonografie in Der Zeitgenössischen Kunst - Kunstverein Worms e. V..
- 26.03.21- 10.10.21 Banksy: The Visual Protest - Gösta Serlachius Museum of Fine Arts, Mäntä.
- 10.03.21 - 02.05.21 The Mystery of Banksy – A Genius Mind - Deutsches Museum, Munich.
- 21.01.21 – 21.02.21 Bad Boys of Good Art – Artside contemporary art, Woodbridge, Ontario.
- 09.06.20 – 28.06.20 Banksy & Poppy – Kosicke Kulturne Centra, Kosice, Slovania.
- 05.02.19 – 03.03.19 Banksy – Love is in the bin – Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden.
- 25.11.18 – 13.01.19 AffenTheater - Forum Kunst Rottweil °.
- 06.07.17 – 05.11.19 ON AIME L'ART...!! - Collection Lambert, Avignon °.
Awards
- 2010: The US Time Magazine names Banksy one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Films
- Exit Through the Gift Shop, Documentary about Banksy and Thierry Guetta, 87 min, England 2010.
Literature
- Where's Banksy?, Xavier Tapies, Zürich 2020.
- The Art of Banksy. A visual Protest, Gianni Mercurio, Munich 2020.
- Something to s(pr)ay: Der Street Artivist Banksy. Eine kunstwissenschaftliche Untersuchung, Ulrich Blanché, Marburg 2010.
- Street-Art: Eine Subkultur zwischen Kunst und Kommerz, Julia Reinecke, Bielefeld 2007.
Collections
Germany
- Munich - Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art (MUCA)
- Hamburg - REINKINGPROJEKTE Hamburg
England
- London - HISCOX London
- London - Newport Street Gallery
France
- Senlis - Fondation Francès
Greece
- Marousi - The George Economou Collection
Weblinks
- Banksy Kunstaspekte Exhibition and collection overview.
- www.banksy.co.uk Official website of the artist.
