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“No one ever listened to me until they didn’t know who I was.” – Banksy
(Above) Flower Thrower Triptych, by the famous-but-anonymous artist ‘Banksy,’ on display at 360 North State Street in Chicago. Photos by Kyle Flubacker. Click on images to view larger versions. 22-Aug-21 – After a delayed opening and change of venue, the eagerly anticipated The Art of Banksy is making its debut in River North. It’s the largest touring exhibition of works by the anonymous and elusive British street artist, with more than 80 authentic pieces on view. Among them are prints, canvases, sculptures, and limited editions dated primarily between 1997 and 2008.
The Art of Banksy sprawls over 45,000 square feet of space on the fourth floor of 360 North State Street, adjacent to Marina City. Artwork more famous than artist Banksy’s art is infinitely more well-known than he is, and he goes to great lengths to keep it that way. His identity is a secret, yet he is widely considered one of the world’s top political satirists. His subject matter is often controversial and subversive and, occasionally, whimsical and sweet. Oft-visited themes are political hypocrisy and societal ills.
The artist’s body of work encompasses outdoor murals, which he often paints surreptitiously and always undercover, and original limited-edition wall art. He has designed music album covers and directed the 2010 Oscar-nominated documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, about the rise of a street artist, which may or may not be a hoax. Over the years, Banksy has carried out a considerable number of public stunts, or pranks. Perhaps the most gasped-about in recent years came at the end of a 2018 Sotheby’s auction in London. A spray-painted version of his classic Girl with Balloon sold for $1.4 million. Moments later, the print was partially shredded by a remotely controlled mechanism he built into the frame.
The Chicago exhibition meanders through a warren of darkened hallways marked with socially distant floor decals. The first part is a timeline for as much – or as little – as is factually known about the artist. The second part consists of topically grouped artwork segmented into the likes of notable exhibitions and disruptive pranks. Just as in Banksy’s comprehensive portfolio, his iconic rats make multiple appearances. It’s no coincidence that RAT is an anagram of ART. Several of the screen prints appeared at Barely Legal, the notorious Los Angeles exhibition in 2006. Trolleys, for one, connects war to making the world safe for shopping. Morons mocks buyers for their purchasing choices at art auctions. The prints are provocative, for sure, but the Barely Legal talk of the town was the real-life pachyderm Banksy painted to blend in with the surrounding decor. It was an elephant-in-the-room metaphor meant to bring attention to world crises of poverty and unclean water.
The audio tour greatly enhances your experience. Despite the narrator’s heavy British accent, the script fills in backgrounds for some of the works and shares entertaining Banksy stories the exhibit doesn’t cover. One example is last year’s If You Don’t Mask, You Don’t Get mural inside a London Underground carriage. Yes, the rats are involved. Look it up. The Art of Banksy is co-presented by Starvox Exhibits and Collectiv Presents. Before coming to Chicago, the exhibition drew crowds in Miami, Melbourne, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto, and Sweden. The Art of Banksy is open daily until September 13, then closed on Mondays. Hours vary, but usually they are 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale for viewings through October 31. Prices start at $39.99 plus a $6.85 service fee. Facial masks are required.
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