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“Chocolate Donut,” part of Banksy’s Donut series, evokes the artist’s characteristic critical humor. A large, sprinkled donut sits atop a police van that is escorted by police on motorbikes. The donut is protect and treated as a VIP would be, comically alluding to the powers of both dignitaries and law enforcement. The print engages with concepts of authority through imagery of police protecting this larger-than-life symbol of consumerism, industrial power, and gluttony. Unlike many of Banksy’s artworks, “Chocolate Donut” did not originate as street art, but rather as a spray-painted canvas.
The anonymous Banksy is one of the most well-known and mysterious contemporary artists working today. The details of Banksy’s life remain largely unknown to the public even as the pseudonym has garnered international acclaim. The artist’s street art and blue chip fine art prints combine spray paint and stenciling techniques with commercial symbols, figures of pop culture, and political imagery, often infused with ironic social commentary and humor. Banksy is critical of capitalism, and his graffiti has tagged the sides of corporate buildings, billboards, and the wall of the Israeli West Bank. Banksy frequently incorporates pranks and performance when unveiling new works. The artist has covertly added his art into museum galleries, including at the Tate Modern and the Louvre. He has opened exhibits with specially-bred rats running through the galleries. And, in 2018, the gilded frame housing one of his iconic works, “Girl With Balloon,” began to shred and partially destroy the artwork moments after Sotheby’s London closed bidding on the piece at $1.4 million.
To see more of Banksy’s work at Taglialatella Galleries, visit: https://www.taglialatellagalleries.com/artists/banksy
