Tag Archives: Paris

Banksy News

February 2, 2019 butterfly

Three major headlines related to Banksy

London: Banksy enters the permanent collection of the British Museum

The British Museum in London has acquired its first work by the anonymous artist, a fake £10 banknote depicting Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, which will join its collection of coins, medals and other currency.
The work, entitled Di-faced Tenner, was one of thousands of copies produced by the artist in 2004 as part of a planned art performance. Unlike ‘Peckham Rock’, a fake cave painting on concrete , which was part of a 2005 stunt and loaned again to the museum for a recent exhibition on dissent and protest in 2018 (see our coverage here), the note has been donated to the museum by the artist’s representative Pest Control.

It is the only official banknote ever released by Banksy. Any other kind of currency note are simply NOT by the artist, so fans and buyers beware. And the Banksy Di-Face Tenner indicates on its back ‘Trust No One’.

Palestine: Banksy creates a new artwork at the Walled Off Hotel

Two years after the official opening his artivist hotel in Bethlehem, Banksy just revealed a new artwork inside the Walled Off Hotel.

Conveying a message of Love and Peace, the artwork depicts a little veiled girl playing with coloured 3d block shapes looking at a giant heart shaped hole in a concrete wall which shows a neon light blue sky. Looking closer the 3D block shapes on the floor are iconographic symbols of all monotheist religions, from the cross to the start and crescent. Messages of peace are graffitied on the wall while Banksy’s signature is engraved in the concrete.

Paris: Banksy’s tribute to Bataclan’s victims is stolen

Sadly less than seven months after Banksy painted his tribute on the fire-exit door of the Bataclan theatre, where Islamist militants killed 90 people three years ago, the artwork has been stolen, the venue has said.
The work, one of a series of murals during Banksy’s invasion of the French capital last June, showed a veiled female figure in a mournful pose. ( Check our initial coverage about the artwork here)
“We are today filled with a deep sense of indignation. The work of Banksy, a symbol of contemplation belonging to all – residents, Parisians and citizens of the world – has been taken from us,” the Bataclan said in a Twitter post. A police investigation continues.

Stay tuned for further updates

Paris

Paris: ‘Illustres- C215 autour du Pantheon’

July 11, 2018 butterfly

Portraits of illustrious men and women painted by the French street artist Christian Guémy, better known as C215, adorn the French National Monument Pantheon and surrounding streets in the fifth arrondissement of Paris until 10 October.

This year, the Centre des Monuments Nationaux is presenting “Sur les murs, histoires (s) de graffiti” on nine monuments of its network (see our previous coverage here). On this occasion, the artist C215 was invited to make portraits of men and women honored at the Pantheon, and thematic visits are also set up in the monument, to discover the many historical graffiti present in the heights of the monument, spaces usually inaccessible to the public.

Christian Guémy pays tribute to the figures of the resistance, like Brecht, Zola or de Gaulle, whose names are associated with streets, squares and institutions. In all, 28 portraits of historical personalities, some of which are buried inside the Pantheon, are painted on the walls of the 5th district.

The tour titled “Illustres! C215 autour du Pantheon ” begins in the crypt of the monument, which hosts an exhibition of the artistic approach and the techniques used by the artist to create these colourful portraits: stencils, blades. A series of photographies illustrate the artist’s creative process, while a movie presents an interview of the artist.

Within display cabinets, C215 is creating a dialogue between the illustrious portraits and symbolic objects. Thus, literary works, handwritten letters, and professional objects of Marie Curie, Germaine Tillion, Andre Malraux, Victor Hugo or Antoine de Saint-Exupery are exhibited and highlight the area for which these illustrious people are honoured.

Punctual visits to the upper parts of the Pantheon allow the public to discover some of the historical graffiti.

At the same time, C215 painted 28 portraits in the streets of the 5th arrondissement surrounding the Pantheon and invite the viewer to discover the lives of these extraordinary personalities.
For example a huge portrait of Marie Curie adorn the walls of the Institut Marie Carie.

A full map of the C215 Illustres tour is available here

Illustres ! C215 Autour du Pantheon
Until 10 October
Place du Panthéon
75005 Paris

CMN ‘Sur les Murs, Histoire(s) de Graffiti’

https://graffiti.monuments-nationaux.fr/

Paris, Street, streets

Paris: Banksy Bataclan Tribute

July 6, 2018 butterfly 2 Comments

Continuing his Paris invasion, Banksy chose a poignant subject and spot on location.
A new stencil appeared on the exit door of the Bataclan theatre in the 11th district of Paris.

Extremely strong symbolic as it is this exact exit door where victims of terrorist attacks tried to escaped during mass shooting on 13 November 2015, leaving 89 dead and over 300 injured.

Painted on the black background of the exit door, a white stencil features a woman with a lace veil, which gives a mystical and protective aura like a Madonna.

Her face is inspired by a marble sculpture by Italian artist Giovanni Battista Lombardi from 1869.
She is dressed in a uniform , reminiscent of the rescuers that did everything to save the victims that night.

veiled woman by giovanni battista lombardi

©Francois Lafite

The mourning woman is holding some files in one hand, maybe the victims reports and a delicate lace handkerchief on the other.

Using just a monochrome stencil, Banksy creates a strong moving memorial to the victims of terrorism in Paris, as well as a big up to the rescuer teams.

For further updates on Banksy in Paris check here

Paris, streets

Paris: Banksy for World Refugee Day

June 22, 2018 butterfly 2 Comments

A new mural appeared in the streets of Paris . A black and white stencilled little girl standing on a wooden palette is painting a pink wallpaper over a Nazi cross.

It bears all the tales of Banksy. Timing and locations are key: It’s world Refugee Day and the artwork is located on the wall of dismantled refugee camp in the north of Paris.

It’s the first time that Banksy paints in Paris

The image is reminiscent of his 2009 artwork ‘Go flock yourself’, with the same wallpaper pattern.

The little girl is homeless as shown with her teddy bear and duvet stencilled on the lower part of the wall. Banksy continues to fight against xenophobia and continue to raise awareness about the refugee crisis.

Stay tuned for more Banksy news to come…

Paris, Shows

Paris: Miss Van Retrospective at Galerie Openspace

June 8, 2018 butterfly

OpenSpace Gallery in Paris is paying tribute to leading female urban contemporary artist Miss Van with a special Retrospective. The exhibition, curated by Samantha Longhi and Nicolas Chenus presents more than 90 works from 2003 to today, and is running until June 14th.

Spanning across 15 years, the exhibition showcases her prolific body of works on paper, wood, and canvas. It’s quite an emotional journey which present her incessant sources of inspiration and Miss Van’s signature female characters set in diverse oniric situations.

Upon entering the gallery, early works with acrylic on canvas, are featured along side the most recent oil paintings Gitanas series.

Key highlights include her little madonnas or ‘Virgen’, Princessas, Bailerinas, Twinkle, a room dedicated to circus with artworks from here 2008 ‘Still Little Magic’ series, as well as the ‘Atame’ painting who graced the cover of the Juxtapoz magazine.

On the lower ground space hosts the ‘Hypnotic flower’, a wooden installation that was featured at the MOCA in LA in 2011 for Arts in the Streets and her masks series.

The evolution of body of works is simply spectacular. Her lolitas have blossomed into sensual Gitanas with a stunning colour palette and precision of the brushstrokes.