Glasgow to host first Banksy solo show in 14 years

Glasgow will host the first Banksy solo exhibition for 14 years, with the secretive street artist saying the Scottish city was a natural choice due to its sense of humour.

The stage has been set at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), where the exhibition will run from this Sunday until 23 August.

Titled “Cut and Run”, the exhibition has been “officially authorised by Banksy”, said The Herald, with the artist set to show off the stencils used to create his “most iconic works”.

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Speaking to the newspaper, Banksy said the stencils had been “hidden away for years”, as he joked they “could be used as evidence in a charge of criminal damage. But that moment seems to have passed.”

Describing the exhibition as “25 years card labour”, the artist will now show off “authentic artefacts, ephemera and his actual toilet”, the Herald added.

Why Glasgow? Banksy suggested he was drawn to the venue by “the traffic cone which famously sits on the head of the Duke of Wellington statue outside the gallery”, the The Independent said.

GoMA manager Gareth James told the news site that the exhibition would be “a perfect fit” for the gallery and the city at large. “This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with an artist who has been exciting and challenging people around the world with their work over the past 25 years,” he told The Herald.

The decision to put on the exhibition was “not made lightly by Banksy”, who has avoided the spotlight and “never revealed his true identity”, the BBC reported. However, as rumours suggest, he is “believed to be around 50 and from the Bristol area”, the broadcaster added.

Banksy is best known for his graffiti works, which often have a political or social commentary. Such pieces include “Balloon Girl”, “Kissing Coppers” and “Flower Thrower”.

Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow (cutandrun.co.uk); until 28 August