AO Art Observed™

The entry installation via the Telegraph

Graffiti artist Bansky unveils his biggest exhibition to date at the Bristol City Museum featuring more than 100 works of which 70 are new pieces including a burned-out ice cream van. The show, which opens today, has been kept secret from the media, local politicians, and even top museum staff.  Of the exhibition the artist said, “This is the first show I’ve ever done where taxpayers’ money is being used to hang my pictures up rather than scrape them off.”

Bansky at Bristol City Museum [The Guardian]
An Ever better video of Bansky [The World's Best Ever]
Bansky takes over Bristol City Museum with biggest ever exhibition [Times Online UK]
Banksy plays it safe and that’s the key to his success [TimesUK]
Video: Bansky in Secret Exhibition Stunt [BBC]
In pictures: Banksy’s Bristol Show [BBC]
Video: Banksy’s back: Bristol project revealed [BBC]
Graffiti artist Banksy unveils largest project to date [CNN]
Take a Stuffy Old Institution. Remix. Add Wit. It’s Bansky v the Museum [The GuardianUK]
Banksy comes in off the streets [The Independent]
Oh, Bansky, You’ve Done it Again [Artsbeat blog, NY Times]
Secret Bansky Show Opens Tomorrow [Artinfo]
Bansky back in Bristol for biggest British Exhibition [The Telegraph]

A work by Bansky via The GuardianUK

The reason behind the museum’s closure was kept secret from top council officials.  Only a few museum directors were in the loop about the show.  According to Kate Brindley, the city council’s director of museums and galleries, during the many months of preparation including the complete shutdown of the museum for 36 hours last week for installation, she had never met the artist. No one even spoke with the artist; it was all done through his agents. Brindley told BBC that at one point she worried if the whole thing were a con.

Bansky’s ‘Fish Tank’ via The Guardian

Bansky was previously sought for vandalism by the police and council in his home town of Bristol.  Running this show was hence a big risk.  His art has covered Bristol city walls but this is his first offical indoor exhibition in the city since 2000.  Nevertheless there are many people in Bristol who love the artist and internationally, he’s become a star.  An anthology of his recent work is a top-selling art book.  In the press release accompanying the exhibition Banksy states that “Maybe one day graffiti art will hang in lots of museums and be viewed in the same way as other modern art, although personally I hope it never sinks that low.”

Bansky via The Guardian

Bansky has become one of Britain’s and perhaps the world’s most followed after graffiti artists. The exhibition is a way for him to give back to the city where he grew up. “This show is my vision of the future, to which many people will say: ‘You should have gone to Specsavers.’”

Bansky via The Guardian

Simon Cook from the Bristol City Council said that the exhibition is expected to attract at least 10,000 visitors. The exhibition opens  will run through the end of August.

Bansky via The Guardian

Banksy repositions Jean-François Millet’s The Gleaners via the Telegraph

The original The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet via ArtandAesthetics

A rat via the Telegraph

A Banksy work in Bristol via the Telegraph

A Banksy work in Bristol via the Telegraph

Another Banksy work via the Telegraph

Banksy manipulates an original Damien Hirst work via the Telegraph

Bansky’s ‘Wrecked ice-cream van’ via The Guardian

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 13th, 2009 at 5:18 pm and is filed under Art News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.