For someone so elusive, it seems like Banksy has been increasingly visible lately. Most recently he’s popped up to paint a series of works in cities such as London (paying respects to Extinction Rebellion) and Wales (apparently ‘wrecking a garage owners life’ in the process). This week, the artist stopped by Venice, erecting a stall to show his work.
Yesterday, he posted a video on his Instagram of what he claims to be himself setting up “Venice in Oil”, a nine-part series of works which, when combined, portrays a huge cruise ship towering over the local gondolas around it. “Oil in Venice” is undoubtedly a comment on the mass tourism that swamps Venice, particularly when the Biennale rolls in. But it could also be a shot at the exclusivity of the art world, as the artist captioned the post: “Despite being the largest and most prestigious art event in the world, for some reason I’ve never been invited.” Despite his huge success, street art and graffiti are still seen as outsider disciplines.
Unfortunately, the authorities shut his stall down swiftly and Banksy was forced to move on.
It’s not the first time Banksy has pulled a stunt like this, in 2013, he opened a stall in Central Park and sold his work for $60 (£38 at the time). For most people walking by, it was assumed the stall was selling fakes, however, Banksy later posted on his website: “Yesterday I set up a stall in the park selling 100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases. For $60 each.”
For more of our favourite moments from Banksy’s career, click here.
