Banksy Kate Moss In Bonham’s Urban Art Auction

Banksy

17 Banksy Artworks Go Under The Hammer In London On 29th March

Bonhams annual Urban Art Auction is set to  bring in thousands of pounds, in ‘Artist Resale Rights’ for the British born international graffiti artist Banksy.The market for his work is buoyant and the sale includes no fewer than 17 works by the elusive popular artist.
Estimates ranging from £2,500 to £80,000 are catalogued for this event scheduled for the 29th of March. The art work entitled Leopard and Barcode is a key lot to be sold at Bonhams, New Bond Street. It was acquired directly from an exhibition titled Existencilism at the 33 1/3 Gallery, Los Angeles. It is being sold by the present owner and this is the first time that the work has been seen at auction. One of five editions and signed Banksy on the reverse, it has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £60,000 – 80,000.
The sale features seventeen works by Banksy in total, with several outstanding originals. One of the highlights is Girl and Balloon, 2009 (estimate £15,000 – 25,000), which has been sprayed on to the cardboard backing of an Ikea frame and is inscribed ‘Quality’ by the artist on the retailer’s label. Highlights also include Bomb Hugger, 2002 (estimate £40,000 – 60,000) and Love is in the Air, 2002 (estimate £40,000 – 60,000), both acquired from the Existencilism exhibition in Los Angeles; and a screen print of British supermodel Kate Moss, 2005, which has been estimated at £30,000 – 50,000. More affordable works include CND Soldiers, 2006 (estimate £3,000 – 5,000; Nola (Pea Green/Blue Rain), 2008 (estimate £5,000 – 8,000); Trolleys, 2007 (estimate £3,000 – 5,000); and Morons, 2007 (estimate £3,000 – 5,000). Alan Montgomery, Urban Art Specialist at Bonhams, says: “Banksy’s popularity still goes from strength to strength, with the market for his work certainly following suit. We are excited to be offering this group of works, which includes some of his best known and most sought after images. It seems that the public just can’t get enough of him, and his continued anonymity, even following last year’s Oscar nomination, only adds to his enigma. Increased international interest means that he is no longer just collected in the UK, but now has a truly global following.” The first Urban Art sale took place in February 2008, and a further four sales since have cemented the dedication to this constantly evolving area of the art market. From Basquiat to Banksy, Keith Haring to Shepard Fairey and JR to Mau Mau, Bonhams have sold a wide variety of both editioned and original pieces in these popular auctions.

Urban art (from Latin urbanus, itself from urbs (“city”)) is a style of art that relates to cities and city life often done by artists who live in or have a passion for city life. In that way urban art combines street art and graffiti and is often used to summarize all visual art forms arising in urban areas, being inspired by urban architecture or thematizing urban live style.Because the urban arts are characterized by existing in the public space, they are often viewed as vandalism and destruction of private property. Even though sometimes this form of art leads to vandalism the creators do not see themselves as vandals. Although urban art started at the neighbourhood level, where a lot of people of different cultures live together, it is an international art form with an unlimited number of uses nowadays. A lot urban artists are travelling from city to city and have social contacts all over the world.

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