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Bonhams Claims “World’s First Urban Art Auction,” Lies

BANKSY, Untitled, Stencil spray paint signature stencil spraypaint and acrylic on canvas, 36 1/4 x 36 1/4 inches

Usually reserved for stuffy socialites and pretentious art elites, auction house Bonhams of London is holding a big sell off of art “inspired by the aesthetic of the street” on February 5th. With “art terrorist” BANKSY’s work selling for record setting prices last year at the world renowned art mart, it should come as no surprise that they’ve seen the value of what they deem “Urban Art” which could, conversely, be construed as a more obnoxious term for this genre then “Street Art.” After all, we’d hardly call Murakami either, yet there he is, lumped in with the likes of Keith Haring, Antony Micallef, Adam Neate, Faile, Paul Insect, Space Invader, Swoon, D*Face and Jamie Hewlett. It’s also a bit misleading to bill this as the “The World’s First Urban Art Auction,” mainly because it’s untrue—didn’t these guys ever hear of Guernsey’s graffiti auction? While it’s clearly not as bad an infraction as this gallery did to mislead , Bonhams is definitely stretching the truth a bit with this billing. Plus, where’s the Americans?

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