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Street Art's Traffic Cop

July 30, 2009 by Marion Maneker

Steve Lazarides is the ringmaster behind the rise of graffiti or street artists from Banksy on down. He rode the rise of the category to a brand new five-story gallery in London where the Times did a profile of him recently:

Then, in 2006, Banksy and “street art” suddenly became unignorable, even to the institutions that had dumped his work in lost property. After a series of trademark stunts to announce its arrival, Barely Legal, Banksy’s LA pop-up show in a Skid Row warehouse, opened in September. As well as making headlines around the world it also made millions: Lazarides sold almost all 50 or so works to clients including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (they bought three) and Christina Aguilera (she bought two) for a total of about $3 million. I remember watching him working the clients: I don’t think he slept for two days.

Shepard Fairey was an unheralded skateboarding-scene street artist from San Francisco at the time — he had yet to design the Barack Obama Hope portrait — and he made this observation: “If you wait for the museums, the moment will pass you by. Case in point: Banksy’s show got 50,000 visitors in three days. Rauschenberg’s got 80,000 in three months. Now the art world is freaking out.” […]

Then, in 2006, Banksy and “street art” suddenly became unignorable, even to the institutions that had dumped his work in lost property. After a series of trademark stunts to announce its arrival, Barely Legal, Banksy’s LA pop-up show in a Skid Row warehouse, opened in September. As well as making headlines around the world it also made millions: Lazarides sold almost all 50 or so works to clients including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (they bought three) and Christina Aguilera (she bought two) for a total of about $3 million. I remember watching him working the clients: I don’t think he slept for two days.

Shepard Fairey was an unheralded skateboarding-scene street artist from San Francisco at the time — he had yet to design the Barack Obama Hope portrait — and he made this observation: “If you wait for the museums, the moment will pass you by. Case in point: Banksy’s show got 50,000 visitors in three days. Rauschenberg’s got 80,000 in three months. Now the art world is freaking out.”

Steve Lazarides: Graffiti’s Über-Dealer (Times of London)

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Filed Under: Dealers Tagged With: Street Art

About Marion Maneker

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