There are two types of unauthorized Banksy exhibitions; the ones with 100% fake reproductions and those with 100% authentic pieces. The exhibitions with authentic works are unauthorized by the artist, but well-curated displays of special edition screen-prints, canvases and other unique material, all with Certification of Authenticity issued by Pest Control together with high-quality ephemera.
One of the exhibitions with authentic pieces is “Art of Banksy”, last seen in Covent Garden in London and Washington DC. (The Art of Banksy was initially curated by former agent Steve Lazarides.) The other ones are “Banksy – the Art of Protest”, – previously labelled as “Genius or Vandal?” and “Building Castles in the Sky”, last seen in New York and curated by Andipa. They source their pieces from serious long-term collectors, but one can assume they are not very popular with the Banksy camp. Still, nevertheless, they are honest and well-executed exhibitions.
On the other side: there are several ongoing exhibitions around the world with 100% fake artwork, squeezing out the exhibits mentioned above. They have no insurance or cost of sourcing the art works, as they only display fakes. Typically these fake exhibits consist of bad reproductions of street art and shoddy copies of his most iconic canvases and screen prints. The organizers often promote the fake studio pieces as being authentic. To make it even more fake and confusing, one of these shady operators has copied the name of The Art of Banksy from the exhibit mentioned above.
The following photos are from the 100% fake but well-attended exhibit The Mystery of Banksy – A genius mind in Malmö, Sweden.
Photos from the 100% fake Banksy exhibition The Mystery of Banksy – A Genius Mind in Malmö, Sweden. Photos: R.A.
Banksy unofficial 