Harrogate gallery hosts North’s biggest-ever Banksy prints collection
Source: Ripon Gazette
27th November 2009
A HARROGATE art gallery is hosting the largest and most comprehensive collection of prints by Banksy ever to be assembled in the North of England.
RedHouse Originals launched the exhibition, called Banksy: Due North at the John Mackie Gallery last Friday with a selection of Banksy’s most iconic and sought-after works to date, including his Andy Warhol-inspired portrait of Kate Moss.
Banksy, whose identity still remains a mystery, began painting on the streets of Bristol in the late 1980s as part of its thriving underground scene, although he now counts the likes of Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie as admirers and collectors of his work.
Following the seminal Banksy vs Bristol Museum exhibition, which between June and August of this year attracted nearly half a million visitors, RedHouse is delighted that the exhibition will also feature the classic Sale Ends and Destroy Capitalism silkscreens.
Neither series has been publicly exhibited since their release at the Barely Legal exhibition in Los Angeles in 2006.
Richard McTague of RedHouse said he was particularly excited that the gallery had managed to source several of the screen prints from private collections.
Tonight’s launch will also feature the unveiling of a selection of new oil paintings by the gallery’s owner, celebrated Scottish artist John Mackie who is influenced by the Scottish Colourists and French Impressionists.
More traditional than Banksy, Mackie is also a big Banksy fan and sees the honesty in his work as something they have in common.
RedHouse’s new exhibition follows the success in the summer of the We Are Pop event which included classic 1960s Pop Art by Dudley Edwards and influential design collective BEV.
The John Mackie Gallery is on Cheltenham Mount. The exhibition runs until December 5. Opening hours Mon-Sat 11am-5.30pm. For more information visit www.redhouseoriginals.com.