Banksy to CUT & RUN in Glasgow

Street and graffiti artist Banksy is hosting his first official solo exhibition for 14 years at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)  

CUT & RUN: 25 years card labour features work form across his career and reveals the behind-the-scenes process of how his works are made. The exhibition displays original sketches as well as the stencils, which have been painted on to give them a new lease of life. 

Banksy has used the original stencils to create new versions of many of his famous works, including Kissing Coppers which first appeared on a wall of the Prince Albert pub in Brighton in 2004. 

Also featuring is Mobile Lovers, from Bristol in 2014, which features a hugging couple who are both looking at their screen over the other's shoulder. 

Explaining his motivation, Banksy said:

I've kept these stencils hidden away for years, mindful they could be used as evidence in a charge of criminal damage. But that moment seems to have passed, so now I'm exhibiting them in a gallery as works of art. I'm not sure which is the greater crime.

The exhibition also includes a detailed model explaining exactly how Banksy managed to shred his Girl With Balloon painting during an auction at Sotheby's in London in 2018. 

Other exhibits include the Union Flag stab vest worn by Stormzy when he headlined Glastonbury in 2019 and pieces previously only seen in Bethlehem in the West Bank, including a pillow fight between an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian citizen. 

Return to Glasgow

In 2001, while still relatively unknown, Banksy jointly exhibited at Peace Is Tough at The Arches, with Jamie Reid, famous for his design work with The Sex Pistols. Although the event didn’t get much attention it did feature early works including Monkey Queen. 

Banksy also created a number of stencil-based works around the city, none of which still exist. 

In a sign welcoming people to Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art, Banksy explains that he brought the show here because his "favourite work of art in the UK" is right outside. 

He writes:

"For anyone who isn't aware - the statue out the front has had a cone on its head continuously for the past 40 odd years. Despite the best efforts of the council and the police, every time one is removed another takes its place." 

Members of the public have been placing road cones on the statue's head for more than four decades, making it a Glasgow tradition. The Lonely Planet once included it in a list of the Top 10 most bizarre monuments on earth. 

Now that road cone is responsible for bringing Banksy back to Glasgow. 

CUT & RUN is on until 28 August 2023.