Photo: colalex / Tik Tok
This could be major!
By Megan Hatch — Written on Nov 17, 2021
Colleen Alexander, a 26-year-old woman living in New York City, was traveling home from work on the West Side to the East Side the other night when she passed a familiar art exhibit.
Alexander, who seems like a pretty big fan of the artist, noticed a Banksy-like art exhibit as she was changing trains which looked very familiar from the Banksy sales from London and New York City in the past.
She switched stations at the 14th st and 8th ave subway stations switching from the A trail to the L train and that's where the art was being sold.
Is Banksy selling art at an NYC subway station in a secret exhibit?
Alexander notes that Banksy currently has an art exhibition in New York City.
The exhibition called, "Banksy Expo: Genius or Vandal?" has been open since September 1st and has been extended that through the end of March 2022.
After spotting the paintings lying on the Subway floor, she noticed that there weren't that many people noticing it and she didn't want to film it because if it was the real Banksy she didn't want to be disrespectful.
She noticed there were signs that said "cash or bitcoin only" and "this is not a photo opportunity."
Banksy infamously sold a $12.9 million piece by cryptocurrency earlier this year and has displayed the words "this is not a photo opportunity" on several of his pieces in the past.
Alexander didn't get to look at it too much before getting on her other train and heading home, but once she got home she had a feeling she should turn back.
The art sold resembles several of Banksy's pieces.
Once she got back there were a couple of people looking at the paintings and she looked around for a potential seller, noticing someone in a ski mask.
She went up to him, asked if he was selling them and he nodded. The man seems to have been silent for the entire exchange.
"Any common street seller would see cash in hand and just come up to you and say, 'what do you need? what can I get you? what are you looking to buy?' they want your money. Nobody did that here," said Alexander.
She asks the man in the ski mask if she could get two for $100 and he shakes his head. This was a sign to her that he's not any other street vendor because they would've said yes.
She then asked him two for $120 as each one is labeled $60 and he nods his head.
Before she left he gently took one of the paintings, flipped it around, and took pictures of the backsides of them — for the serial number. He then took a photo of her holding both paintings.
According to Alexander, this part was important as in order to authenticate a painting you need to take a photo of yourself holding the paintings which need to match up with the seller's photo of you.
Alexander also showed off the two pieces she purchased which certainly look legit — or are just great replicas.
She captioned her video, "maybe I fell for an elaborate tourist trap, or maybe I made the best decision of my life."
Similar to Banksy's other art he's sold in the past, the paintings were arranged in the same way, scattered on the ground, up against the wall, and they had the same signs saying no photos and cash only.
Banksy has hosted secret exhibits in the past.
In 2013-2014, when he also had an exhibit going on in NYC called “Better Out Than In," he sold paintings at a street vendor in Central Park.
These pieces were also being sold for $60 each — the exact price Alexander paid.
Everything about Alexander's experience felt so real to her and others agreed, commenting saying, "even if it was a scam, then the scammers were Banksy fans also and Banksy would probably approve. still pretty cool," and "I love that you're so excited. Who cares if it is or isn't This story will stick with you forever and that's what matters."
Some people might think it's fake, but compared to how he sold his art in the past it all seems pretty real, and to Colleen, this was real.
"Honestly the value of this art, the way it's making me feel right now, it might as well be a Banksy. This excitement and this hope, I haven't been this excited in song long and even if it's not Banksy, all I wanna say is thank you whoever set up that exhibit."
Megan Hatch is a writer at YourTango who covers news & entertainment, love & relationships, and internet culture. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.