A major Banksy exhibition is coming to London – and the artist has nothing to do with it

This news will delight some and appal others, but there’s soon going to be a whole lot more Banksy in London. ‘The Art of Banksy’, the world’s largest touring exhibition of the street artist’s work, opens on April 23 at a yet-to-be-announced South Kensington venue following a global tour that has so far taken in Melbourne, Tel Aviv, Auckland, Toronto, Miami, Gothenburg and Sydney. 

The show contains 80 official works, made from 1997 to 2008, including now-iconic images like ‘Girl and Balloon’ and lesser-known pieces.

The artworks are all from private collections and the show is entirely unauthorised by the artist. The curator, Steve Lazarides, was Banksy’s driver, photographer and de facto dealer throughout his early career until 2009, when they parted company (although Lazarides has stated that there’s still a lot of ‘mutual respect’ between the pair).

Lazarides is also the author of ‘Banksy Captured’, a self-published selection of the hundreds of photos he took of the artist out and about spray-painting everything from walls to cows.

‘The Art of Banksy’ opens on Apr 23. Register for pre-sale here. 

See more great art exhibitions opening in London now.