(16 Aug 2021) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4339514
An exhibit of more than 80 works by the graffiti artist known publicly only as Banksy has opened in Chicago.
"The Art of Banksy" will run through Oct. 31 in a shuttered, 45,000-square-foot broadcast communications museum.
Exhibit organizer Corey Ross, president of Starvox Exhibits, says this is the world's largest collection of Banksy art.
"All of the pieces that are here are pieces that have been contributed by collectors who've been collecting art that they've bought from Banksy over the years," he said.
The Banksy pieces have been transported to Chicago from private collections in Asia, Europe and the United States.
"So over the years, Banksy has sold all of these pieces off to collectors," Ross said.
Some of them are our older pieces that he sold at the very beginning of his career and some of them are quite recent, according to Ross.
"And really this work would be sitting in warehouses or would be sitting in private homes," Ross added. "And it's a marvelous opportunity to be able to assemble it all and bring it to the public. And that's what excites the collectors, and that's what excites the public about being able to see this exhibit."
The pieces include canvasses, prints and sculptures and are from private collections.
Stencils by the street artist have appeared on the walls of buildings _ even a British prison, bridges and streets across the globe. Some of his most recognizable stencils and murals include "Flower Thrower," "Rude Copper," "Girl with Balloon" and "I Remember When All This Was Trees."
Earlier this year, a Banksy painting honoring health workers in the pandemic sold at auction for more than $23 million. Titled "Game Changer," the work first appeared on a wall at Southampton General Hospital in southern England in May 2020.
The black-and-white picture depicts a young boy sitting on the floor playing with a nurse superhero toy, as Batman and Spiderman toy figures lie in a wastepaper basket next to him.
At the time it went up, the hospital said Banksy left a note for workers there saying: "Thanks for all you're doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it's only black and white."
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