Banksy is Back: Elusive Artist’s First Official Show in 14 Years to Open in Glasgow

For the first time since 2009, an exhibition of Banksy works authorized by the mysterious maestro of street art will be on view to the public, according to a story published by The Guardian.

The show, titled “Cut & Run”, will not only feature Banksy’s paintings, but many of the stencils used in his practice which have—until now—been held under lock and key in order protect the artist from police. 

“I’ve kept these stencils hidden away for years, mindful they could be used as evidence in a charge of criminal damage,” Banksy told The Herald. “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.”

Among the works on view, some of which date back to 1998, will be a comprehensive model of the mechanism Banksy famously used to shred Girl With Balloon (2006) after it sold at Sotheby’s London for $1.4 million in 2018. Just a few years later, in 2021, the work, retitled Love is in the Bin, sold for $25.3 million, a new record for the artist. The exhibition will also include a replica of his studio and personal effects, such as his actual toilet. 

The exhibition, which opened on June 15, will take place at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art through August 28.  Banksy told The Herald that he chose the Glasgow space specifically because of the statue of the Duke of Wellington outside of the gallery that for at least forty years has had a traffic cone placed on its head by the city’s residence. 

A label in the gallery shows how much Banksy appreciates the subversive Glaswegian gesture: “Welcome,” it reads. “If nothing else, you’re going to see one masterpiece today – you just walked by it. For anyone who isn’t aware – the statue out the front has had a cone on its head continuously for the past 40 odd years. Despite the best efforts of the council and police, every time one is removed another takes its place.”

There’s has been no shortage of unauthorized Banksy shows around the world, most of which have relied on replica works and were scant on original Banksys. “While the unauthorized Banksy shows might look like sweepings from my studio floor, “Cut & Run” really is the actual sweepings from my studio floor,” Banksy said.