Work by mysterious Banksy on display
Celebrated $2M Banksy artwork on exhibit at Wolfhead Distillery
An estimated $2-million piece of art by acclaimed British street artist Banksy — whose identity remains a mystery — has popped up in Amherstburg.
The work, known as the Haight Street Rat and featuring a spraypainting rodent, was originally completed in 2010 on the side of a San Francisco bed and breakfast.
Now the rat is travelling North America to help promote the importance of street art, making its first Canadian stop in Amherstburg.
The Wolfhead Distillery, at 7781 Howard Ave., has transformed into a 2,000-plus-square-foot gallery — open to the public for three days. More than 20 local artists, including one as young as 11, and more established artists such as surrealist painter Stephen Gibb, photographer Kevin Kavanagh, and street artist Denia, will also display more than 100 pieces at the pop-up gallery.
“It’s amazing,” said organizer Jason Freed of Campus Crawl Tours, which is staging the three days of Banksy. “The sound, the lighting, the entertainment: it’s going to be Canada’s hottest border city art experience.”
The touring work of Banksy is tied to the intriguing documentary Saving Banksy. The film screened in Windsor Sunday night, and is airing on Netflix, while the artwork is shown at Wolfhead through Thursday.
Freed not only appreciates art, but Banksy’s whole vibe. After all, Jason Freed is not his real name, but a “production name” he uses for events he stages.
Freed feels Banksy’s anonymity makes his work stand out all the more.
“It adds 100 per cent to the mystique of the work,” he said. “Him being anonymous I’m sure adds to the value of the work. It makes the paintings more fascinating, and the people more curious.”
Banksy also stirs up controversy. City officials and police often
consider his graffiti illegal. Haight Street Rat was actually the last piece Banksy did during a painting spree in San Francisco in 2010. The rest were painted over.
Brian Greif, a TV executive in San Francisco at the time, decided he wanted to save a Banksy — and served as executive producer of the documentary about his efforts.
“There was a big social media frenzy,” Greif said in Amherstburg Monday. “People in the San Francisco art world would rush around each day to see the new Banksy piece.”
But the city issued prompt orders everywhere Banksy’s work appeared, calling it graffiti and saying it must be removed lest the building owner be fined.
“I thought it was a shame,” said Greif, who insists he doesn’t know who the artist is. So he set about negotiating a deal to save a Banksy.
An art dealer in New York has since offered Greif US$700,000 for Haight Street Rat, a 7-by-7½foot black and red spray paint on 107-year-old redwood cedar, shortly after taking it down, but Greif declined.
“This was something Banksy did for the public,” said Greif, who considers himself more caretaker than owner of Haight Street Rat.
“The whole reason for taking it down and exhibiting it — and the reason behind the movie — is trying to keep it available for the public so it doesn’t end up in a private collection.
“I promised I’d never sell it.”
(Banksy) being anonymous I’m sure adds to the value of the work. It makes the paintings more fascinating, and the people more curious.