Banksy's Art Show Pulled

An exhibition by an infamous street artist that was due to go on display in Norwich has been pulled amid fears the art work could be targeted by thieves. Norwich Art Centre was all set to show off its “Buy Now, Spray Later…” exhibition of Banksy prints, but has cancelled the exhibition after 10 of the graffiti artist's rare works were stolen from an art gallery in Sussex. Banksy, whose identity has always remained secret, is the most famous graffiti artist in the world and has daubed his stencil art across walls and pavements around the globe. His work has sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds to celebrity fans such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Jude Law, with vandals repeatedly attempting to lift his work from its concrete canvas. Police believe that the thieves who struck twice in Brighton last month and took framed, limited edition prints including Morons, Jack and Jill, Virgin Mary, Napalm, Welcome To Hell and Gangsta Rat, stole to order for an art dealer or collector. The thefts and increased hype surrounding the artist left the owner of the prints due to hang at the Norwich venue anxious over security and unwilling to let them go on public display. Stuart Hobday, director of the arts centre, said: “It's a real shame that this exhibition is not going ahead, but the risk of the art being stolen was fairly high and we understand the concern raised by the owner of the works.” Vandals also ruined some of Banky's street murals on a wall in Whitechapel last month, intending to chisel away the slabs of concrete painted with images of flying rats. They instead tore off a great rift of concrete and wrecked tens of thousands of pounds worth of street art. Late last year thieves using an angle grinder to cut out a section of wall in Paddington bearing a Banksy stencil of a rat bouncing a beach ball under a “No Ball Games" sign and put it on ebay for £20,000. (For full source and article click the Headline). Irish Art