Thomas Baumgärtel (1960) - 5 DM Banane

Thomas Baumgärtel (1960), 5 DM Banana, 2020.

Two-color stencil graffito (pochoir) on a 5-DM banknote (6.2 x 12.2 cm).
90 copies, signed, numbered, and stamped.

Condition: Good condition. The banknote may have minor tears or creases, as it is a used banknote that has been in circulation.

Note: Illustrations are exemplary – the edition number may vary.

After Thomas Baumgärtel's first Banana Pochoir in 2002, the 5-DM note was issued, and 18 years later, the 2020 edition appeared. The banknote features the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with an 'embedded' Musa of the 'Banana Sprayer' as stencil graffiti on the back, printed on original banknotes from 1991 with Bettina von Arnim's portrait on the front.

Biography
From 1985 to 1990, he studied free art at FH Köln and continued until 1995 with psychology at the University of Cologne. Since 1986, the Cologne artist has marked art locations in European cities, as well as in New York and Moscow, under the pseudonym 'Bananen-Sprayer' — over 4,000 to date. Starting in 1995, he developed 'Banana Pointillism' — painting with small stenciled bananas on canvas. He has staged actions in public spaces with large banana sculptures, such as 'We Love the High Church' at the main portal of Cologne Cathedral (1998); since 2002, he has been designing projects for Berlin, including 'We Love the Union' at the Brandenburg Gate.