Banksy Statement
The largest exhibition of Banksy works ever assembled, War Capitalism & Liberty, will debut in Rome on Tuesday. The show, which includes the pop-style image of Kate Moss, spans the career of the mystery graffiti artist, political activist, and film director.
Mostly prints, the art critically examines the intersection of war and consumerism, the first time a major collection of Banksy has been curated from private collectors. The non-profit exhibition comes just one year after the artist, who’s not affiliated with the show, opened Dismaland, a dark send-up of amusement parks.
Acoris Andipa, a Banksy dealer who partially procured the pieces in the show, said, “This a significant collection of work by the artist known as Banksy, a corpus of over 120 works including sculptures, stencils, and other artistic expressions, all strictly from private collectors and, therefore, absolutely not removed from the street.”
Originally from Bristol, Banksy has maintained an anonymous persona since he emerged on the art scene in the late 1990s, cultivating a global audience with his unique blend of humor and humanity, often politically charged. His most poignant works have been created on the streets of London and New York, as well as the West Bank and other politically unstable parts of the world.
War Capitalism & Liberty, Palazzo Cipolla, Rome, May 24 – September 4, 2016