Banksy is one of the world’s most famous artists, but despite his global following, his identity remains unknown. He rose to prominence after he began spray-painting his now trademark stenciled designs around Bristol in the early 1990s. Renowned for his political, humanitarian, and poetic-satirical works, the artist works across a variety of mediums and formats in the urban environment: from stencils and spray-painting, pop-up shops, and urban interventions to his Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem and his dystopian amusement park Dismaland. The artist does not restrict himself to scale and medium but rather responds to context. In many of his works, Banksy comments on the commodification of art.

With works such as Love is in the Bin, 2018, a performance and live destruction of his artwork that was shredded moments after being sold at auction, he questions the value placed upon art. Whilst he ridicules the art market, landowners and councils rush to profit from the buildings chosen for his latest interventions.

On loan courtesy of the Gewobag collection.