Avant et après Banksy. La (R)evolution de l’art urbain.
The exhibition, co-produced with 24 ORE Cultura and the Musée d’Art de Toulon, presents a selection of over 80 works from European private collections, offering an overview of the evolution of Street Art with Banksy as its central figure. The curatorship is entrusted to Patrizia Cattaneo Moresi, together with Brigitte Gaillard, chief curator of the museums of Toulon.
By placing Street Art within a broader historical, social, and cultural context—of which Banksy is now the emblematic representative—the exhibition retraces the key stages in the evolution of urban art, starting with pioneers of the graffiti era such as Crash and Seen, moving through figures who brought the movement to international prominence like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and also acknowledging the rich French scene with Blek le Rat, Miss.Tic, and Gérard Zlotykamien, up to a wide selection of some of the most significant contemporary artists, including JR, Invader, and Madame.
With over 40 works on display, particular attention is devoted to Banksy, who plays a major role both in contemporary art and in the social sphere, becoming a true phenomenon capable of influencing and engaging global public opinion. His works have profoundly shaped collective consciousness, to the point of becoming instantly recognizable.
Within the framework of the exhibition, Andrea Ravo Mattoni created a site-specific intervention that engages in a dialogue between pictorial memory and contemporary street art languages: “In this intervention I created for the Musée d’Art de Toulon, I reinterpret Émile Loubon’s Retour du troupeau through a contemporary spray-painted mural on three walls arranged in a horseshoe shape, forming an immersive diorama. Inspired by the preparatory drawing, I combined sanguine and spray paint to create a dialogue between past and present, inviting the viewer to step into the scene.”
From 14 June to 2 November 2025
Musée d’Art de Toulon (MAT)
113 Boulevard Général Leclerc
Toulon, France
Exhibition organized in collaboration with
