Banksy’s popularity

He makes a few masterstrokes.

The popularity

Banksy was catapulted into the “street art” underground in 1998, while he organized a huge graffiti rendezvous called “Walls of Fire” with some other legends of the Bristol graffiti scene.

He then gained a huge reputation in the European art world.

It was however in 2003 that he really participated in an exhibition in London, in an art gallery. He presented artworks painted on canvas. These included his version of Nymphéas, by Claude Monet (French Impressionist painter). This one was greatly noticed since it represented the beautiful scenery painted by Monet, with a little something extra: grocery baskets and other contemporary rubbish. A little later, in March 2005, he furtively infiltrated the biggest American museums in order to display his paintings. Thus, he managed to enter the Museum Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the American Museum of Natural History, all located in New York.

The following year, he carried out the exhibition called “Barely Legal” in Los Angeles, during which he exhibited the painting “elephant in a room” with the famous animal painted with gold motifs and covered with flowers, like a tapestry. Shortly thereafter, he presented the top model Kate Moss, using a Warhol manner. The top was depicted as Marilyn Monroe on some canvases, in varied color palettes. His paintings on canvas were sold at a price well above their estimated value as part of an auction at Sotheby’s in London.

Between 2006 and 2008, he made some masterstrokes, among which we find his famous project inspired from the film “Pulp Fiction” by Quentin Tarantino in 2007. He painted the two main heroes in an unconventional way.

Indeed, their weapons were exchanged for bananas. Although it was appreciated by all, the London transportation company removed the image, claiming that it reflected a neglected and poor image, influencing crime. The same year, one of the acolytes of Banksy, called “Ozone” died at the age of 19, by being hit by a subway car. Banksy then devoted a few achievements to pay tribute to the young man. He created several Masterworks.

Finally, it was in May 2008 that he revived the exhibitions by hosting the “Cans festival” in London. He invited graffiti artists from all parts of the world to come participate, provided that they reproduced their own material. Thus, artists like Blek le Rat , Broken Crow , Eelus and Tom Civil were part of this event, which was a great success. Banksy knows how to target his clients and get publicity without however devoting too much effort. In his exhibitions, he always invites several art world personalities to make them enjoy their work. The “art terrorist” knows that this way, his name will be heard from all parts of the world.

Among his fans we find the actress Angelina Jolie, the actor Brad Pitt, the singer Christina Aguilera, the comedian Jeremy Piven, but also his graffiti acolytes always presented to support him or to get inspired.