Banksy authenticates and renames his jagged paint in the amount of $ 1.4 million – which the buyer plans to keep

The self-destructive saga of Banksy has entered its next chapter.

Sotheby's revealed that the bidder for the artist's prize was Girl with balloon, described as a "European collector" and a "long-time customer" who spent $ 1.4 million on work last Friday, decided to keep it in its jagged form after a week of negotiations.

"When the hammer fell last week and the work was shredded, I was shocked at first, but I gradually started to realize that I would end up with my own story of the l & # 39; "Art," said the anonymous collector in a statement.

Banksy also agreed to "re-authenticate" the piece with a new title, Love is in the trash (2018). (We do not yet know what happened first: the collector's decision to keep the work or Banksy's re-authenticate and rename it.)

Sotheby's, for its part, makes the most of its publicity stunt by describing the work – which was shredded spontaneously in the middle of the auction room as soon as the hammer fell – as "the first work of art". 39; story never created during a live auction. "

The newly christened painting will be on display at Sotheby's New Bond Street galleries in London this weekend (Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 pm).

It was strongly emphasized that the seemingly destructive act could, in fact, greatly increase the value of the work. (An enterprising collector has even gone ahead and shredded his own Banksy etching in an ill-advised effort to profit from the buzz.)

The video of self-destructive work immediately became viral online. When the winning bid fell, an alarm sounded and the paint slid halfway into an automatic shredder that the artist had surreptitiously built into the frame. Many have presumed that Sotheby's was involved in the trick, although the auction house strongly denied any involvement.

Alex Branczik, Sotheby's contemporary specialist, wrote in a recent article on Instagram:

Let's end speculation and crazy conspiracy stories. Banksy did not destroy any artwork during our evening sale last week; he created one. This is the new title Love Is In the Bin, 2018. Were we part of it? Absolutely not. Do you really think that Banksy, who spent his youth scoring walls in Bristol and dodging local authorities, would like to collaborate with the art institution? Come on, you should all know it better than that.

Branczik then invited the public to come and see this half-ripped picture in person at Sotheby's this weekend.

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