Banksy "Keep it real" small version fetches 250.000£ at Bonhams.

March 8, 2016

Banksy (British, born 1975)

Keep it Real
2006
signed and dated 2006 on the reverse
stencil spray paint on found steel sheet
45.5 by 35.5 cm.
17 15/16 by 14 in.
This work is unique in its format.

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Pest Control Office.
Provenance
Laz Inc, London
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2006

Exhibited
Los Angeles, Barely Legal, 2006

Banksy is the world's best known and most important Street Artist and yet the vast majority of his works available on the market have been executed on canvas. The artist is at his best when combining his scathing, jet-black humour with a material that reflects the aesthetic of urban life and the authenticity of his intentions. Outside of the Think Tank series on metal panels commissioned by the pop band Blur, examples of his signature stencils on metal are incredibly rare and highly sought after.

Keep It Real from 2006 features one of Banksy's most iconic and popular images, the chimpanzee appearing here in one of its many incarnations as the loveable underdog with a sandwich board, underestimated and yet subversive, with the power to illicit social transformation. As with a large number of the artist's recurring stencils this image has appeared at auction on many occasions in many media, but until now never on metal, making this a rare and exciting opportunity to acquire a signature Banksy on a format that best reflects his roots.

This work was first shown in Banksy's breakout show Barely Legal in Los Angeles in 2006, an exhibition that cemented his reputation both as a countercultural superstar but also as an artist celebrated by many of the world's greatest collectors. This artwork formed part of a body of work that represents the artist at his most ambitious, most radical and most creative.