Banksy Graffiti Headlines New CONTEXT Art Miami Fair During Art Basel

Miami’s December Art Week, during which Art Basel and several other art fairs set up around the city, is one of the biggest art events in the world.

Banksy, the English street artist whose film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, was nominated for an Oscar last year, is one of street art’s most recognizable names.

So Banksy at Miami Art Week sounds like a perfect match. And apparently,Art Miami agrees. The fair will launch a new venue, CONTEXT Art Miami, in December — with a special exhibition, “Banksy Out of CONTEXT,” as its centerpiece.

The exhibit will feature four walls, each featuring a Banksy stencil. Unlike much of the art at Baseltime fairs, the Banksy pieces are part of a private collection and are not up for sale. Rather, Art Miami organizers say, the works are designed to highlight the “ongoing debate about the ethics and importance of showing ‘site-specific’ street art outside of its original context.”

(Other Banksy pieces will be for sale at the fair, however.)

In total, CONTEXT will display works from 65 galleries, adding to the 125 galleries showing at Art Miami. Only one South Florida gallery will exhibit at CONTEXT — Cancio Contemporary, of Bal Harbour — but Miami does have a bigger presence at Art Miami with 101/Exhibit, Ascaso Gallery, and Dot Fifty One showing, among others. 

Visit contextartmiami.com.

This Article by Ciara LaVelle was featured in New Times Miami