The Art of Banksy. A visual protest, Mudec, Milan, 21/11/2018 – 14/04/2019

“The Art of Banksy. A visual protest”, at MUDEC from 21 November 2018, is curated by Gianni Mercurio, showcasing about 80 works including paintings, sculptures and prints by the British artist, accompanied by objects, photographs, and videos, about 60 album and CD covers, which the artist himself curated, and about forty pieces of memorabilia (lithographs, stickers, prints, magazines, fanzines, tickets, promotional flyers), that retrospectively describe the work and thinking of Banksy, a British artist and writer whose identity is still unknown, is considered one of the leading exponents of contemporary street art.

His works are often laced with satire and deal with universal subjects such as politics, culture, and ethics. The shroud of mystery that, by choice and out of necessity, is perpetuated when we talk about Bansky has turned him into an absolute legend of our day and age. His visual protest engages with a vast and heterogeneous public and has made him one of the best loved artists among the younger generations.

Although many Bansky exhibitions have been organized by art galleries and other exhibition spaces, a public Italian museum has never hosted a monographic exhibition of his work. Until now that is. For the first time ever, the MUDEC-Museo delle Culture di Milano is hosting a retrospective on the British artist’s work. The exhibition is not authorized by the artist, like all those that have been devoted to his work until now. Banksy continues to defend his anonymity and independence from the art system.

Promoted by the Comune di Milano-Cultura and 24 ORE Cultura-Gruppo 24 ORE, which is also the producer, A Visual Protest. The Art of Banksy, conceived by Madeinart, is divided into several sections aimed at stimulating our critical reflection and (what may be) Banksy’s place within the more general context of the history of contemporary art.