BANKSY

Works on paper from a celebrated graffiti artist.

British artist and political activist Banksy, famous for his street art, has been making, publishing, and selling screen prints for several decades. As artist Paul Coldwell notes in his introduction, these prints, widely circulated, extended the reach of Banksy’s political and social critiques to private, domestic surroundings. Art collector Campolucci-Bordi has gathered 174 of these striking images into a handsomely produced volume, organized chronologically by their release date, from 2002 to 2022. The author provides a description of each image, along with information about where and when it was released, how many were published, and how many were signed. Banksy repeated some motifs, such as yellow smiley faces, which appear in Flying Copper and Have a Nice Day as the faces of police officers and in Wrong War as the face of a solider. Rats recur, too, as symbols of rebellion and resistance. Most images were printed in black, white, and red, but Banksy often used colors ironically: A pink bow stands out on a military helicopter (Happy Choppers) and a pink background underscores the innocence of children in Jack and Jill/Police Kids. Banksy’s titles highlight his ridicule of capitalism and consumerism: Christ With Shopping Bags depicts the crucified Jesus holding bags of purchases in each hand; Sale Ends Today shows worshippers bowing before a store’s sign; and Very Little Helps shows children pledging allegiance to a Tesco bag hoisted on a flagpole. Similarly, the artist skewers British royalty, in Monkey Queen and Queen Vic, and alludes to the royal family’s treatment of Princess Diana in Di-Faced Tenners. His irreverence extends to Winston Churchill, depicted with a punk hairdo in Turf War. A glossary defines some artistic terms and projects.

A stark, graphic commentary on contemporary life.