BANKSY EXHIBITIONS AND PRANKS // EXISTENCILISM LOS ANGELES, JULY 2002

  • In the summer of 2002, Banksy staged his first Los Angeles exhibition, Existencilism, at the 33 1/3 Gallery. The title...
    Front cover of Banksy's, Existencilism, self-published, 2002.
    © Banksy.
    In the summer of 2002, Banksy staged his first Los Angeles exhibition, Existencilism, at the 33 1/3 Gallery. The title captures his characteristic humour, playfully twisting the word “existentialism” into a pun that foregrounds his chosen medium of the stencil. This clever turn of phrase also echoed the title of his second self-published book, released just two months earlier in May 2002. By presenting stencil art within a gallery setting, Banksy challenged perceptions of street art, aligning it with wider philosophical and artistic debates while retaining its rebellious edge.
     
    Despite being his American debut, the exhibition was an immediate success, with most of the works nearly selling out. Existencilism marked the public unveiling of several of Banksy’s now-iconic images, including Love Is In The Air, Barcode, Queen Victoria, and Laugh Now. The show established Banksy’s presence in the United States and laid the groundwork for his later return to Los Angeles with the landmark Barely Legal exhibition in 2006.
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  • “Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a sharp knife to it.”

    – Banksy

    The exhibition marked a turning point in Banksy’s career, introducing American audiences to some of his most enduring images, including Love Is In The Air (Flower Thrower), Barcode, Queen Victoria, and Laugh Now. By transposing street art into a gallery environment, Banksy provoked debate around context, ownership, and legitimacy—was graffiti still graffiti once framed on a gallery wall?
    The show was a near-instant success, with most works selling out, cementing Banksy’s appeal far beyond the UK. It also laid the foundation for his later Los Angeles project, Barely Legal (2006), which would propel him into international fame.
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      SIGNED EDITIONS

    • Banksy Show Me The Monet 2005

      ORIGINAL WORKS

    • Banksy's mural of a rhinoceros on a car

      STREET WORKS