Banksy: mystery and art icon

The anonymous graffiti pop star

Despite a lack of biographical details, it is assumed that he was born in Bristol around 1974 and began his career as a graffiti artist there as a teenager. Banksy later turned to more sophisticated, socio-critical or political works, which often attract great media attention.

There is always speculation about his true identity and the art scene wonders whether there is even a single man behind the pseudonym. In fact, some theories assume that Banksy could also be a woman or part of a collective.

A very popular theory, however, is that the artist is a man named Robin Gunningham - a talented draftsman from near Bristol. A photo of Gunningham taken in Jamaica using a spray can and stencils further fuelled speculation, so that even Queen Mary University criminologists In 2016, using geographical profiles, tried to establish a connection between Gunningham and Banksy plants in London and Bristol. In this way, the researchers want to have unequivocally identified the artist as Robin Gunningham.

Banksy's street art statements

For Banksy, the manifest rumors and speculation surrounding his identity serve a double function: On the one hand, the artist's anonymity gives his works a very special fascination. On the other hand, the pseudonym protects him from potential prosecution. Because Banksy's street art projects are usually created under cover of darkness, without official approval and are therefore actually illegal.

But the artist is pragmatic and is said to have once said: “A wall has always been the best place to publish your work.” He sprays his works onto walls using stencils and often incorporates other objects, such as street signs or subways, into his art. One of his first, large-format wall paintings was “The Mild Mild West”, which was created in Stokes Croft in Bristol in 1999. The work shows a teddy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail at three policemen. It was created by Banksy over the course of three days and can still be seen in town today.

In addition to his graffiti, Banksy also works with installations and actions to convey his messages. For example, in 2015, the anonymous Englishman opened with the Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston, a temporary art exhibition that parodied amusement parks such as Disneyland. Among other things, with ill-tempered employees, a dreary backdrop and a shooting gallery where “winning is strictly prohibited.” At the end of the 36-day project, the park's workers and materials were sent to a refugee camp in Calais to build additional accommodation.

In 2017, Banksy's path led to Bethlehem, where he Walled Off Hotel , which is located directly on the eight-meter high concrete wall that Israel built to separate the Palestinian territories. Management says that the “presidential suite” offers the “ugliest view in the world.” However, “compensation” for guests is the artistic side of the hotel: The rooms are full of Banksy's paintings and graffiti.

The artist is known for his often critical, cynical, humorous and provocative works, which - if they can be sold at all - are traded in the six to seven-figure range. But Banksy even knows how to stage an auction of his graffiti “Girl with Balloon”. In October 2018, he caused a great deal of excitement at a London auction: The plant shredded itself after the last bid of the equivalent of just under 1.2 million euros. An apparatus hidden in the frame cut half of the motif - what remained was primarily snippets.

Most valuable works

Banksy himself described the campaign as a critique of the art market and renamed his work “Love is in the Bin.” It was Auctioned again at Sotheby's in London in 2021 and achieved a record price. For the equivalent of 18.89 million euros plus fees, an unknown person, who was connected via the telephone, bought the half-shredded painting at auction. Such a large sum has never been raised for a work by Banksy before.

If a piece of wall, siebruck or stencil authorized by Banksy ever goes on sale, art collectors often pay more for it than experts had previously estimated. So for example “Keep it Spotless,” which has changed hands not for the estimated price of 350,000 dollars but for a proud 1.7 million dollars and is therefore high on the list of the most expensive Banksy works. The airbrushed work was created in 2007 and parodies a painting by British artist colleague Damien Hirst.

Sotheby's is currently offering the famous Banksy work “Love Is In The Air” for sale for around four million dollars. The picture shows a masked activist throwing a bouquet of flowers into the air. It has become a powerful message that expresses the absurdity of war and the artist's vocal commitment to peace.

Einen Banksy, Damian Hirst or Jeff Koons Owning is probably not feasible for many art fans and collectors due to high prices. But thanks to digital shares, art lovers can now at least benefit from the attractive return opportunities offered by the art market. Art as a tangible asset It has a very low correlation with financial markets and is therefore an excellent protection against inflation and a prestigious addition to the portfolio.