A major exhibition of UK street artist Banksy‘s works will open in Melbourne next month… and it has nothing to do with the elusive artist.
The curator – and Banksy’s former agent – Steve Lazarides, said the two have been “at loggerheads for years” and he hopes the exhibition will piss the artist off.
“Banksy and I haven’t spoken for over a year,” he said.
“He’s not the kind of guy who is ever going to do a retrospective. I started looking at his paintings and a lot of them have more relevance now than they did when they were painted. I think it’s good to get it back out there and for people to start talking about things.”
The Art of Banksy will be shown in Melbourne from early next month, and is the biggest collection of his work ever on Australian shores. It will feature 80 works by the iconic street artist, including Girl with Balloon and Laugh Now. All works are now owned by private collectors around the globe, with Banksy originals selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Lazarides, who began working with Banksy when his artwork sold for $50 from the boot of a car, also squashed theories that emerged last week of the artist’s true identity being Robert Del Naja from UK band Massive Attack.
“Trying to say that some 50-year old bloke is running around with some massive pop band, trying to tour around the world playing gigs and is also doing notorious street art as Banksy is fucking mental,” he said.
The Art of Banksy will show from October 7 until January 22 at The Paddock, Federation Square. The exhibition will also include a hub called The Railyard, with DJs and food trucks, as well as work by local artists.
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