Thrower (Grey), 2019
Edition: 300 signed
Thrower presents a variation of one of Banksy’s most iconic visuals entitled Love Is In The Air (Flower Thrower). The work shows a man with a bandana over his face frozen in the act of throwing neither a brick nor a Molotov cocktail, but a bouquet of flowers. This image conveys a message of peace. In the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) version, the visual is split into three parts, and presented as a deconstructed tryptic.
As such, the artist is returning to the original techniques of printing, avoiding digital methods of manipulation in order to perfectly recreate the striking marks of the original design. Obviously, it refers directly to artists such as Andy Warhol, who transferred his images directly onto a screen to be reproduced, ushering in a new era for the creation, dissemination, and commodification of art.
With its classical stencil led style, the work also pays homage to Banksy’s origins as a street artist, whereby the stencil represents the quickest, most efficient way for the artist to insert his image into the urban environment without getting caught. Revisited and reconceived many times over the years by Banksy, Flower Thrower has become one of the most iconic images from the street art movement and is a motif he revisits often in the same way he does with rats and monkeys.
The original description for the work explains that this work represents “Banksy’s first experiment with a new technique for making prints – spray the stencil onto processing film and expose the result directly onto a silk screen.” This was the original screen-printing technique used by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring – two artists whose work and careers helped shape and inspire Banksy.
DESCRIPTION
Flower Thrower Triptych
Year: 2019
Medium: Screenprint in colors on 1500-micron board
Size: Flower (74.8 x 55cm), Thrower (91.8 x 61cm), Hand (47 x 37.2cm)
Publishers: BANKSY and Gross Domestic Product, London
Edition: 300 signed
Signature and Numbering
Signed and numbered in pencil on the left panel
Additionally numbered on the central and right panels on the reverse
Signed and numbered in pencil on the left panel
Additionally numbered on the central and right panels on the reverse
AUCTION RESULTS
Flower Thrower was sold directly through Gross Domestic Product in the primary market starting in 2019 and came initially with a commitment from the buyer not to sell at auction for three years. Pest Control Office has now issued all COAs.
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