BANKSY Prints for Sale

Banksy (born 1974) is the pseudonym for an English graffiti artist. He has chosen to remain anonymous making him the subject of much speculation as to who he is, if he is indeed male!

He started making work as a graffiti artist in the early 1990s and was part of a large underground scene in Bristol with Nick Walker, Inkie and 3D, where he also met Steve Lazarides, a Bristol photographer who became his agent. He is now not represented by anyone or gallery, he chooses to represent himself.

By 2000, he used the stencilling technique, making it quicker to complete a work doing most of the preparation in advance of spraying, he also moved to London and began to gain notoriety.

His work combines political messages often with humour to drive home his ideas. His first large wall mural was The Mild Mild West painted in 1997 in Bristol covering solicitors advertising with a teddy bear lobbing a molotov cocktail at three riot police.

His imagery often depicts rats, apes, policemen, members of the royal family, and children. In 2002, he had his first exhibition at 33 1/3 Gallery in Los Angeles, entitled Existencilism. He has produced fake bank notes with the head of Princess Diana instead of the Queens head, throwing them into crowds. Travelled to Palestine and stencilled nine images onto the Palestinian side of the West Bank Barrier.

By the late 2000’s, he was a commercial success making record breaking sales at auction for his screen prints and stencil paintings. In 2010, he made Exit Through The Gift Shop, a successful Oscar nominated film about the relationship between commercial and street art.

In 2018, his work Balloon Girl was sold for £1.04m which was immediately shredded by a shredder hidden in the frame - Going, going, gone - a prank by the artist!

He continues to make Street Art and has travelled all over the world making his mark. He has caught the attention of millions with his clever, witty, bold sardonic statements ranging from murals to sculpture to installation and prints.