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Banksy: Genius or Vandal?
06/05/2020
The exhibition Banksy: Genius or Vandal currently being hosted at the IFEMA (institución Ferial de Madrid) until March 3rd this year, examines one of the best known and most polemical living artists in the world today. Containing more than 70 individual pieces that are organised thematically (many of which are being shown in Spain for the first time) the exhibition includes art works, sculptures, installations, videos and photographs drawn from private collections.
Banksy Exhibition: Genius or Vandalism, currently on display at IFEMA (Madrid Trade Fair Centre) until 3 March this year. Discover one of the world’s best-known and most controversial living artists today. Featuring over 70 individual pieces organised by theme (many of which are being shown in Spain for the first time), the exhibition includes artworks, sculptures, installations, videos and photographs from private collections.
However, this has not been authorised by the artist, who rarely gives interviews and steadfastly maintains his anonymity, operating covertly around the world to create art installations inspired by pop culture and political and social commentary.
Banksy: Background, identity and inspiration
Banksy rose to fame at a time when a new generation of British artists such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst (known as the YBAs) took the art world by storm in the mid-1990s. Unlike these established figures, Banksy operates on the fringes of the art scene, dividing critics and the public ever since he first gained recognition. Closely connected to Bristol’s underground street art scene, Banksy began as a freehand graffiti artist working directly within a collective known as the DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ), collaborating with musicians and artists on projects centred on social commentary and political activism. Banksy cites the 3D graffiti artist, a founding member of the seminal music group Massive Attack, as a major influence, and there is a theory that they are one and the same person. By the year 2000, Banksy had adopted the stencil style for which he is best known today, a style and approach first championed by the French graffiti artist Blek le Rat, who used the urban environment and specially designed surfaces as his canvas. Initially, photographs and reproductions of Banksy’s works were sold by the artist, but today the installations themselves are regularly resold, which sometimes involves the removal of the surface on which they are painted. Recently, Banksy made headlines with a framed reproduction of his graffiti artwork Balloon Girl, which, upon being sold at a Sotheby’s auction, self-destructed via a shredder that had been incorporated into the artwork’s frame. Since then, the work has been named “Love is in the bin”. In 2010, Banksy released the film Exit Through The Gift Shop, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature the following year.
Banksy at IFEMA
The art world’s bête noire, a guerrilla artist, a provocateur, a shameless plagiarist, a master of publicity. We invite visitors to draw their own conclusions about Banksy through the selected works on display at IFEMA. In the words of the exhibition curator Alexander Nachkebiya, director of IQ Art Management, “Banksy has become a phenomenon and is one of the most brilliant and important artists of our time. His work is a challenge to the system, a protest; he has forged his brand with incredible skill, and he remains a mystery, as he works in defiance of the law.”
The Banksy exhibition is presented through a stunning 360-degree immersive audiovisual installation created especially for this event at the entrance, which offers clues about this mysterious artist and highlights his most important works, whilst also showcasing his unusual career through 28 original artworks and 45 limited editions. reproductions, as Nachkebiya explains, “his work, which is always fully embedded in the present reality and is very comprehensive, touches the soul of each and every one of us. I suppose all of this is what makes him a genius in my eyes.”
Practical information
The exhibition takes place in Hall 5.1 at IFEMA, the same venue where ARCO is held annually, usually around the end of February. IFEMA is the capital’s largest exhibition centre, located between the airport and the city centre. The most convenient transport option from the city centre is the metro or Madrid underground; the stop is Feria de Madrid on line L8, where the exit drops visitors off at the south entrance to the exhibition complex. Line L8 connects the city centre with the airport and bus routes 112, 122 and 828.
Opening hours for ‘Banksy: Genius or Vandalism’ are Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 9 pm. The gallery is closed on Mondays, except on public holidays, long weekends and during holiday periods. Last admission is one hour before closing time.
Where to stay
For art lovers visiting Madrid for the first time or returning to the city, the Hotel Principal Madrid or the Hotel Unico Madrid are the perfect choices, not only because of their easy access to IFEMA but also due to their proximity to the capital’s major art galleries. The city is home to the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Reina Sofía, the Caixa Forum and others, all of which are within easy reach of both hotels.
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