"Cut & Run: 25 Years Card Labour": Banksy Announces First Official Exhibition in 14 Years
On June 15th, Banksy, the most renowned anonymous British underground street artist, announced that his first official exhibition in 14 years will open this weekend at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Glasgow, Scotland. The exhibition, titled "Cut & Run: 25 Years Card Labour," will encompass the artist's entire career, from his early works in the late 1980s to his latest pieces created in 2023, as reported by CNN.
While there have been several exhibitions featuring Banksy's works in the past decade, "Cut & Run" will mark the artist's first official exhibition since "Banksy vs Bristol Museum," which took place in his hometown in 2009.
The "Cut & Run" exposition will feature stencils used by Banksy to create his iconic graffiti, found in locations such as a car park in Los Angeles, the exterior of an old prison, the interiors of London's underground, and buildings damaged during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Hostomel, Irpin, and Borodyanka.
In addition to the legendary stencils, the exhibition will showcase a bulletproof vest adorned with the Union Flag, specially made by Banksy for rapper Stormzy. It will also include paintings, among them the famous piece " Basquiat being stop and searched," a version of which was painted on the walls of London's Barbican gallery during Jean-Michel Basquiat's exhibition in 2017.
One of the highlights of the exhibition will be an interactive display demonstrating how Banksy embedded a shredder into the frame of his painting " Balloon Girl," which self-destructed during a 2018 auction at Sotheby's.
In a statement on Instagram and the official "Cut & Run" exhibition website, the enigmatic anonymous artist Banksy declared: "I've kept these stencils hidden away for years, mindful they could be used as evidence in a charge of criminal damage. But that moment seems to have passed, so now I'm exhibiting them in a gallery as works of art. I'm not sure which is the greater crime."
The exhibition at the Scottish gallery will run from June 18th to June 28th. The event website emphasizes that photography during the exhibition is strictly prohibited, and visitors will be required to surrender their phones. However, the staff will be available to take free Polaroid photographs for those interested.
As previously reported by The Gaze, restoration works took place in Ukraine to determine how to preserve Banksy's artwork left on buildings slated for demolition.