Banksy works worth £12m seized from 'unauthorised' exhibition in former Belgian supermarket

Some 58 pieces, including Girl With Balloon, were shown ‘illegally’

Girl with Balloon was on display (EPA)

An exhibition entitled Banksy Unauthorised has lived up to its name: more than £12m worth of the British graffiti artist’s work was seized from the gallery amid claims it was displayed there illegally.

Some 58 pieces – including Girl With Balloon and Kissing Policeman – were taken by bailiffs from the Strokar Inside art gallery in Brussels.

They are now in storage at an undisclosed location in the Belgian capital.

Reports suggest the gallery – based in a former supermarket – was hosting the exhibition after a German company called On Entertainment loaned the works.

But Banksy’s former manager Steve Lazarides, who owns the majority of the seized art, said he had loaned the German firm the work for an exhibition in Berlin.

Mr Lazarides said On Entertainment had no right to transport the art to be displayed in Belgium.

Managers at Strokar Inside are understood to have alerted authorities when they became aware of potential rights issues. They were concerned the work was not properly insured. “My clients were freaking out [when they found out],” a lawyer for the gallery told The Guardian.

The five-hour seizure came after a court ruled on Thursday that “the disputed works do indeed appear to be exposed, without the agreement of the legitimate holders of rights over them, in the premises, where they do not appear to be regularly insured, and that there are reasons that it would seem necessary to secure them as quickly as possible”.

The show, which was set to run until 30 December, has been cancelled.

The Berlin exhibition would have been part of a series of worldwide shows, which have also been called Banksy Unauthorised because Mr Lazarides is showing the Bristol artist’s work without his permission. Since Mr Lazarides owns the pieces himself, he does not need such consent.

However, Banksy, whose real identity is still unknown, appeared to warn people away from the shows during the summer.

Writing on his website, the artist said: “Members of the public should be aware there has been a recent spate of Banksy exhibitions none of which are consensual.

“They’ve been organised entirely without the artist’s knowledge or involvement. Please treat them accordingly.”

He stopped short of suggesting a boycott, adding: “Not sure I’m the best person to complain about people putting up pictures without getting permission.”