You’ve probably heard of guerrilla street artist, Banksy, and if you hadn’t, then you have now. Banksy, is probably one of the most famous (or infamous) artists alive today. His work has captured the imagination of millions and also the discouragement of many. Banksy’s work craves on controversy, on realism, on greed and on injustice. He uses urban settings as his canvas, and now has A-list celebrities as fanbois.
Banksy the person is somewhat more elusive. Shying away from publicity has certainly helped the reputation of Banksy and adds to the myth. His recent work saw Brad Pitt splash out a nice round £200,000 and only last year did somone pay out over £220,000 for his monkey wearing a sandwich board painting (shown left). It seems that the affluent can’t get enough of Banksy. His first exhibition of his work opened in New York and featured animatronic animals to show us how we treat pets and animals differently. The show was a massive hit in New York and added to the growing reputation of Banksy.
But not everyone is in awe of contemporary artist, Banksy. Westminster Council has targetted one of his works as ‘graffiti’ and ordered it to be painted over. Only in the UK, can we say, ‘You can’t do that!’
Today, however, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke announced that they will be exhibiting Banksy, in a show entitled The Arrival, Urban Art from February 7 to May 10. Admission is free.
