Banksy’s Latest Surprise Strikes the Venice Biennale

On the heels of the Venice Biennale 2019, where monumental (and expensive) pavilions showcased thousands of works of art, a usurper has stolen all the attention in his characteristically nonchalant way. Banksy, the elusive British street artist, posted a video on Instagram of his latest guerrilla installation on the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy—one that managed to lampoon both the Biennale and its host city.

In the minute-long clip, a man is seen putting up a series of framed paintings, piecing them together to form one work depicting cruiseliner on the famous canal. Below it reads the sign “Venice in Oil,” the piece’s unofficial title. As the video continues, passersby interact with the makeshift installation before the local authorities ask the unidentified man (who, for all intents and purposes, could be Banksy) to disassemble it. The last shot then shows a real-life cruiseliner floating through the city’s iconic waterway.

Within hours, the Instagram post already had over 1 million views and thousands of comments praising the artist’s brilliance—far more engagement than any post that La Biennale di Venezia’s official account received.

With his real identity still mostly under wraps and his penchant for striking unpredictably with his ephemeral, politically charged installations, Bansky is perhaps the perfect figure to offer a riposte to the beloved—if highfalutin and wildly commercial—art fair. To that end, a caption below his Instagram post reads, “Setting out my stall at the Venice Biennale. Despite being the largest and most prestigious art event in the world, for some reason I’ve never been invited.”