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A link between past and present, the Toulon Art Museum is stepping out of its comfort zone and welcoming with open arms a less formal artistic genre: street art.
From the late Miss.Tic to Thirsty Bstard, including JR and Pro176, everyone is taking part in this retrospective, which is as festive as it is informative. It showcases the various techniques of contemporary urban art, such as lettering, graffiti, and lithography. "Street art is becoming more democratic," says Brigitte Gaillard, the museum's chief curator. "It's becoming more accessible to everyone and isn't just an urban art form. It's also universal, as we're exhibiting artists from Italy, France, and the United States." Among all these prestigious guests, one is being scrutinized with particular attention: Banksy. A figure as mysterious as he is legendary, since we still don't know who is hiding behind his secret identity, Banksy is a force to be reckoned with in the art world, without ever setting any limits. His stencils, both poetic and committed, have conquered the entire planet, from Jerusalem to London, via Venice and Calais.
While the BBC claimed in 2023 that his real name would be Robert Banks, other theories suggest that it could actually be Robert Del Naja, the leader of the group Massive Attack. While the exhibition is not yet ready to reveal his true face, it nevertheless allows us to admire nearly 40 works by the man who has been shaking up the graffiti scene for more than thirty years, from the streets of Bristol to the auction rooms of Sotheby's, where his famous self-destructed canvas Love is the Bin sold in 2021 for more than 21 million euros.
Banksy, Before / After A (R)evolution
until October 5 at the Toulon Art Museum,
113 boulevard Leclerc, Toulon. Tel. 04 94 36 81 15
