An exclusive Banksy selling exhibition is coming to Hong Kong

Banksy: Who’s Laughing Now?, Phillips’ upcoming selling exhibition, will bring to Hong Kong 27 works by the anonymous street art sensation known as Banksy. The exclusive selling exhibition will include famous as well as unseen artworks.

The display also coincides with Phillips’ Evening Sale of 20th Century & Contemporary Art and it will include two portraits of Abraham Lincoln, completed by Banksy in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as part of the New Orleans murals.

“The works highlighted in this exhibition illustrate the artistic achievements of Banksy over the last two decades. A visionary and trailblazer at the forefront of street art since the 1990s, Banksy has dedicated his career to challenging society’s perception of fine art versus street art,” Miety Heiden, Phillips’ Deputy Chairman and Head of Private Sales, said of the exhibition

Banksy’s oeuvre has drawn both praise and controversy, with irreverent works that challenge the political order and are powerful social commentaries. He first turned to graffiti as a rebellious fourteen-year-old disillusioned with school in his home city, Bristol. His works began appearing on trains and walls in 1993. By 2000, they were all over the United Kingdom.

“This unprecedented exhibition will include the artist’s six-metre wide Laughing Now, and Girl with Balloon, AP Gold, among other iconic works. Banksy has been propelled to the forefront of today’s art market and we look forward to sharing these works with both new and longstanding admirers of his work,” Heiden continued.

Recently, when he made world headlines for playing what could be remembered as one of the boldest tricks in art history (the now-famous self-destruction of “Girls with balloon”) at a London Sotheby’s auction, Banksy finally consecrated himself as the most progressive voice of contemporary street art.

Banksy: Who’s Laughing Now? will run from November 17 to December 8 

14/F, St. George’s Building, 2 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong