The National Horseracing Museum will host the first formal exhibition of Love is in the Air, one of British street artist Banksy’s most famous works, on 25th July.
The image of a half-masked young man throwing a bunch of flowers in the style of a Molotov cocktail has been generously loaned to the museum by The Particle Foundation, a groundbreaking fine-art platform that fractionalises artworks to democratise the ownership and governance of multimillion-pound masterpieces.
Banksy’s large graffiti stencil originated on the side of a garage in Jerusalem, strategically placed near the West Bank Barrier to highlight the absurdity of war and power dynamics. The radical image, which has drawn comparisons with Picasso’s masterpiece Guernica for the significance of its anti-war message, is one of the artist’s most sought-after pieces, referenced and reproduced globally, and was acquired at auction in 2022 by the Particle community for $12.9m
Love is in the Air will go on display at the museum until 1st October before moving to Amsterdam and Barcelona. The piece will be viewed alongside the contemporary street art exhibition, The Urban Frame: Mutiny in Colour arranged by John Brandler of Brandler Galleries, Essex, which features a number of other works by Banksy as well as Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, My Dog Sighs, Blek Le Rat and many more.
Admission to the exhibition is £7 per adult, £3 for children (12-18yrs), under 12s free and group rate available. After hours viewing on selected Friday evenings.
