Exhibitions Calendar

Monthly schedule of openings and programmed exhibitions.

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May 2026

Friday, 1 May 2026
- Summer: New Positions
  Project Space, London

@optimacontemporary

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$In the early 2000s, £75 could buy you an unsigned Girl with Balloon. For around £150, you could own a signed example. Two decades later, Matthew Perry’s Girl with Balloon diptych achieved $1.19 million at Heritage Auctions when it was offered from the actor’s estate, with proceeds benefiting the Matthew Perry Foundation. While not the same work, comparable Girl with Balloon canvases and diptychs were originally released at a fraction of today’s values, illustrating the extraordinary rise of Banksy’s market over the past two decades. Now recognised as one of the most iconic images in contemporary art, Girl with Balloon was voted the UK’s favourite artwork in 2017. Two decades later, it remains one of the defining symbols of the contemporary art market. #Banksy #GirlWithBalloon #ContemporaryArt #ArtMarket #ArtCollector$

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