BANKSY x Be@rbrick 'Series 41 Secret Figure' (2020) 100% Designer Art Figure w/Display

'Series 41 Secret Figure' by Brandalised, 2020
Limited Edition figure collab. with Be@rbrick x Medicom Toy.
Featuring artist Banksy's 'Smiling Copper' (2003) and 'Highwayman' (2009) artwork.
100% (2.8 Inches/7.1 Centimeters)
3.5 x 2 Inches (display)
Rare, collectible hydro-dipped vinyl/ABS designer art figure with cylindrical acrylic display case.
(This was the "Secret" figure from Be@rbrick series 41, released in 2020).
Limited Edition (Sold Out).
Brandelism logo printed on figure reverse.
Very good, original, as-is condition.

ARTIST BIO

Banksy needs little introduction. He is the world's most famous contemporary street artist and yet somehow has remained anonymous.

Being both one of the worlds best known artists and having no one know what you look like is a good example of Banksy's humorous slant on the modern world that can be seen running through all of his work.

His politically loaded stencils have been gracing streets around the world for almost twenty years and the media attention he has received has been unprecedented.

His refusal to conform and work within the confines and prescribed routes offered by the traditional art world captures something important about the ethos of street art generally.

From placing his own works uninvited in the world's major museums to painting live elephants for his LA show, Banksy has continued to surprise and amuse for decades.

ABOUT THE ART

Is it a toy, or is it art? Boasting boundary-breaking collabs with artists, designers and musicians, Medicom’s Bearbrick is in a class of its own. The bear-headed figurine is widely credited with sparking the modern madness for collectible toys, and for good reason: partnerships with creators like KAWS, BAPE and even Karl Lagerfeld have produced some of the most sought-after—and most valuable—toys of all time.

We can thank Medicom’s founder, Tatsuhiko Akashi, for the Bearbrick’s existence. Founded in 1996, Medicom burst onto the collectible scene with the Kubrick, a LEGO-like figurine with savvy pop-cultural tie-ins. Thanks to the Kubrick’s success, Akashi was tapped to create a handout gift for the 2001 World Character Convention in Tokyo, celebrating the 100th birthday of the iconic teddy bear. But the commission posed a logistical challenge for the then-fledgling company, with hundreds more orders than it could rapidly produce from scratch. Luckily, Akashi’s ingenuity carried the day. He cleverly modified Medicom’s flagship toy, replacing the Kubrick’s humanoid head with that of a bear—and the BE@RBRICK was born.

While the original Bearbrick stood 70 mm high, today Bearbrick sizes range from 35 mm (50%) to a whopping 700 mm (1000%). Collecting an entire series is a feat in itself: released only twice a year in limited runs, Bearbricks are sold in randomly distributed “blind boxes,” making the rarest models incredibly hard to come by. The resale market is the surest bet for completionists and hardcore collectors, and resale values for the most coveted toys have risen accordingly.