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biztos | 3 days ago

I’ve seen a lot of his work IRL, he was one of the artists at the now (sadly) defunct Aurum Gallery where I was a regular visitor.

For better or worse, he’s mostly know in the “street/urban art” world (which is much bigger than graffiti). And one of the features of a lot of the art in that scene is high technical mastery paired with “low” / populist motifs and composition.

Seen up close these works are really quite amazing, and I respect the artist choosing to make the things that can make him a living. Even Brice Marden, at some point, just kept making those trademark squiggles and cashing those checks.

discuss

iainmerrick|3 days ago

That's an interesting distinction. I hadn't really noticed that but it makes a lot of sense.

I suppose Banksy would be close to the crossover point between those two worlds? The ideas and the chutzpah are the main attraction, but generally 'low' populist motifs, without high technical mastery. Someone you could either look up to or sneer down on from either side.

biztos|3 days ago

It's a good question whether Banksy really is a crossover, or only a crossover in market terms. I would definitely call him a high master of stencil technique though, some of that stuff is pretty hard to pull off.

As clever as his art is, I think he's still very much an outsider in the capital-W Art World, which for his part he's often trying to prank. (Which they richly deserve, see Exit Through the Gift Shop.)

Things like the self-destroying painting were high-concept but also completely staged. For another artist getting rich off his contempt for the Art Market, but solidly on the Art World side of the fence, see Maurizio Cattelan.

One person with a foot in both worlds is Alex Face but he's mostly known in South-East Asia. I have a feeling it'd be easier to find examples in Asia than in the West.

https://www.artsy.net/artist/alex-face