“Vandalised Oil (Choppers)”, an oil painting showing military helicopters crashing into a peaceful country landscape, sold for about $5.8 million, a painting for the auction house illustrating the “anti-war message” of Banksy, an artist from Bristol, in the west of England, whose identity is being withheld. The canvas is reminiscent of the American film “Apocalypse Now” about the Vietnam War, but seems to evoke the war in Iraq, against which the graffiti artist protested in 2003.
At the same auction a version of “The Balloon Girl” for about US$3.7 million, also owned by Robbie Williams, who bought it directly from the artist in 2006, the international press reported. The image of a girl launching a red heart-shaped balloon appeared on the walls of London from 2002 and was later reproduced in various versions by the artist, including paintings and prints.
Creator of a critical and ephemeral art, Banksy is an exponent of urban artists for his ironic look at the system and its striking productions, but at the same time it represents the opposite effect of being consumed and assimilated by the art market and placed in a place of worship.
Understanding the complexity of this phenomenon associated with the millionaire figures obtained by his works whose value skyrocketed during the pandemic, the non-permitted exhibitions, his great public exposure despite his anonymity and the diffusion on the networks, and above all, the institutionalization of a brand with its name implies revisiting other narratives and routes.
The anonymous street artist began his steps in the graffiti movement as a teenager in his hometown, Bristol, registering his signature on trains and streets in 1993, and by 2001 his stencil works (stencils and spray) were all over the country.
Among his best-known works are “Niña con pelota” (“Girl With Balloon”), auctioned in October 2018 for 1.3 million dollars, which changed its name to “Love is in the Bin” (“Love is in the bin”) when it attempted to destroy itself during the sale and became the first work of art ever created live at auction.
Author of graffiti, paintings and serigraphs, among his themes, portrayed ironically and with a sense of humor, are his critical view of the tragedy of migration to Europe and those killed in the attempt, racism -last year he ruled on the murder of George Floyd and the Black Live Matters movement-, poverty, hypocrisy, greed, love, hope, canceled dreams, surveillance, police repression and wars.
If there is a paradox between what this artist provokes when he denounces the system while his works are listed at the highest standards in the international market, or if there is a constant intention to discuss the institutionality of art in his work, it is a debate that even boosts the sales and popularity of this author who has remained anonymous for decades.
Source: Ambito
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