Editorial / Banksy

Banksy Cut & Run: the artist's first solo exhibition in 14 years has come to Scotland

15 Jun 2023 | 3 min read

It’s finally happening. Banksy's first official and authorised exhibition in 14 years is set to open this weekend - June 18th - in Glasgow, Scotland and will be held at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA). The show, titled "Cut & Run: 25 years card labour" will span Banksy's career, showcasing his earliest works from the late 1980s to pieces made this year in 2023.

The exhibition is all about the stencils he uses to create his famous street artworks. Most recently these have popped up in Margate and Kyiv but they span globally across Paris, London, Venice, New York and Palestine.

The stencil for Girl With Balloon is on show alongside the stencil that featured in Kyiv, Ukraine

Jane Barlow

“I’ve kept these stencils hidden away for years, mindful they could be used as evidence in a charge of criminal damage. But that moment seems to have passed, so now I’m exhibiting them in a gallery as works of art. I’m not sure which is the greater crime”

– Banksy

Additionally, it will feature UK rapper Stormzy’s Union Flag stab vest that was worn during his 2019 Glastonbury performance, and various paintings such as "Basquiat being stop and searched", a version of which was painted on the walls outside the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition at the Barbican in 2017.

One of the pinnacles of the show will undoubtedly be a model depicting how Banksy embedded a shredder into the frame of the Girl With Balloon that infamously self-destructed during an auction at Sotheby’s London in 2018. And, on top of all of this, the “artist’s actual toilet” will be on display.

The model of the shredded Girl With Balloon piece

Jane Barlow

Tickets for the exhibition cost £15 for adults and £10 for concessions and a limited amount of walk-up tickets are available each day. It will open throughout the night on weekends, closing at 5 am before reopening at 9 am. Just be aware that they might not let you in if you're heading over, heavily intoxicated after a night out on the town. Photography is strictly prohibited, and visitors must keep their phones in lockable pouches throughout their visit. However, staff will be available to take complimentary Polaroid photographs.

The exhibition is set to run for three months and if it proves to be popular (which we’re sure it will), there is talk of the show touring.

Image posted on Banksy's official Instagram account earlier today

Banksy

There is also a fun reason behind why Banksy chose GoMA to host his exhibition. It is because of the Duke of Wellington statue that stands outside the gallery, which - in an unofficial Glasgow tradition - has consistently had a cone on its head for over 40 years.

“Despite the best efforts of the council and the police, every time one is removed another takes its place.", Banksy explains in a statement.