One of the definitive artists of the new millennium, Banksy has left an indelible mark on the walls of art history as a true maverick of the genre. In a unique work from a rare edition of 10, London, New York, Bristol (Heavy Weaponry), 2000, encapsulates the provocative, jocular spirit of a career defined by its irreverence, satire, and defiance. From his emergence as a figurehead of Street Art, Banksy has risen to the heights of global superstardom through a course of breakthrough exhibitions, political activism, and artistic showmanship. Here, his gritty style and piquant humor is on display with typical panache – a masterclass in stencil and spray paint on canvas.

Known for his sardonic wit and pointed irony, Banksy has never shied away from a searing commentary of the art world that has embraced him nor the troubled politics and issues of his time. Like all great artists, Banksy’s aloofness and ardent refusal to heed his now-celebrity status has only cemented his legacy as a true outlier and hero to the public who view him in the vein of Robin Hood, undermining and ridiculing the established order. He is the embodiment of that peculiarly British, self-effacing sense of humor whereby he mocks the faux seriousness of artists and the powers-that-be. He is polemic, scathing and satiric and everyone is a possible target, including himself.

In true Banksy style, the present work is littered with a variety of symbols and motifs that have recurred throughout the Bristol-born artist’s practice, standing in for his idiosyncratic style of commentary and mode of image making. An oversize barcode, an elephant backpacking a missile, and the names of the cities that early on bore the stencils of the lesser-known master in the 1990s and early 2000s. The painting feels charged with a veiled anti-war sentiment, mocking the commoditisation of military engagement.

Banksy’s own ‘heavy weaponry,’ however, remains his stencil and the art of the image, and London, New York, Bristol (Heavy Weaponry) reads as much a declaration of intent for artistic intervention in these locations as a critique of militant malpractice. Indeed, as Banksy’s has recalled, “as soon as I cut my first stencil I could feel the power there. I like the political edge. All graffiti is low-level dissent, but stencils have an extra history. They’ve been used to start revolutions and to stop wars” (the artist in ‘The Story Behind Banksy,’ Will Ellsworth-Jones, The Smithsonian, February 2013, online).

His taste for theater, black humour and activism have distinguished him from his street art kin such as Blek Le Rat and Shepard Fairey, and placed Banksy in a category of his own. Undoubtedly, his anonymity and resilience as a political entity in his own right – who single-handedly became a symbol of hope stenciling graffiti in the Gaza Strip in 2015, and more recently launched an independent search-and-rescue vessel for asylum seekers adrift in the Mediterranean – has meant Banksy’s legacy is unrivalled in its depth and scope not only in graffiti circles, but in the art world at large. At his core, he remains one of the greatest artists of our time, and the present work is a veritable embodiment of the adroit hand, cunning mind and values that have made him so celebrated and his works so highly sought-after.

Presented here for sale is such a painting that demonstrates the British artist’s indisputable and enduring currency as social commentator and contemporary artist. His technique remains singular and immediately identifiable. For so long the ‘elephant in the room’ of the art world, his legacy is secured as a definitive artist of the period, and London, New York, Bristol (Heavy Weaponry) stands as one of those most rare Banksy paintings on canvas that is a unique work from a very limited edition.

Source: Bonhams

---

Bonhams London: 10 December 2020
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 312,750 / USD 415,915