Banksy is a true genius of the street art movement. The art community and its many fans agree with this fact. His popularity is only enhanced by the mystery surrounding his work. No one knows who Banksy is!
In this article we will try to trace his path from a criminal spray artist to one of the most famous street artists of all time, who is known as an activist, director, graffiti artist, and provocateur.
British street artist Banksy became known for his stencils in the early 2000s. Although at the age of 18 he started drawing graffiti for free and almost got caught.
- In 2007, Banksy was awarded as the best Living British Artist (Art’s Greatest Living Briton), but in order to keep his identity a secret, he did not attend the award ceremony. He refuses almost all interviews and works through the Pest Control agency to report and confirm the authenticity of Banksy’s real works.
- In 2008, he created Keep it Spotless in collaboration with Damien Hirst, which was sold at Sotheby’s for $1.7 million. Currently, Banksy is considered one of the most important and well-known contemporary street artists.
Banksy really became a street artist when he started creating graffiti with the DryBreadZ Crew, a band from his hometown of Bristol. Banksy stated that his work was strongly inspired by the famous French street artist Xavier Prout, aka Black le Rat, who is known for painting rats on buildings using stencils.
Very little information is known about the artist hiding behind the pseudonym Banksy.
- Presumably, Banksy was born in 1974 in Bristol, England. Rumor has it that Banksy is actually singer Robert del Naya from the band Massive Attack. A journalist established a correlation between the dates and places the band visited on tour and the simultaneous appearance of Banksy’s works.
Banksy never sells his work through private art galleries, and his subversive exploits go much further.
- In 2004, he printed and distributed fake 10-pound banknotes with the image of Princess Diana. They had the inscription “Banksy from England!”
- In 2013, in order to condemn the absurdity of the art market and the staggering prices for some works, he sold about twenty original works to an American who put them up for sale at a kiosk in Central Park for $ 60 apiece. But only a few paintings were sold.
- In October 2018, Banksy made headlines again at the Sotheby’s auction in London. In front of a stunned audience, the play called “The Girl with the Balloon” partially self-destructed. This thing has just been sold for $1.4 million!
- In 2015, Banksy opened an amusement park called Dismaland for five weeks. Visitors could walk in front of a carousel with wooden horses, which was taken over by a serial killer. They could also see Cinderella dead after a carriage accident. 150,000 visitors were delighted, praising the nonconformist vision of this contemporary artist.
Banksy’s art will forever remain known for her bold approach and ability to combine passion for street fighting and pacifist fervor. Banksy’s epic story is still in the making. The upcoming locations of Banksy`s street art remain undisclosed. However, Banksy recently launched an online store. He sells his works in limited editions only to fans who write to him, answering the question: “Is art important?”
