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The debate over whether Maurizio Cattelan’s banana pipe attached to a wall installation qualifies as art is likely to continue. But that didn’t stop it from selling for millions of dollars at a Sutu art auction in New York.
The winner grabbed the Italian artist’s artwork, titled “Comedian” and consisting of a banana taped to a wall, for a whopping $6.2 million on Wednesday, far surpassing the $120,000 it sold for at Art Basel Miami Beach. 2019.
Before bidding began, the artwork was valued at between $1 million and $1.5 million. It was the first time that this work of art was offered at auction, according to Suthu.
The buyer receives a roll of duct tape and one banana, along with a certificate of authenticity and official installation instructions, the auction said.
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Although the artwork is small, measuring 20 cm by 20 cm by 5 cm, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art for the Americas, David Galperin, described it as “one of the most influential and powerful works of art of the last century.”
Galperin said “Cattelan shook the foundations of the art world, and brought art to the center of popular culture.”
People view Maurizio Cattelan’s “The Comedian” during a press preview of Sotheby’s Evening Auction on Oct. 25, 2024, New York City. (John Nacion/Getty Images/Getty Images)
In 2019, when Catelán’s “Comedian” debuted in Miami, he was met with confusion and in some cases, amusement. But the piece received worldwide attention following its $120,000 price tag at Art Basel. A social media debate soon followed about the nature and value of art.
In December 2019, when the Comedian installation was unveiled at Perrotin’s booth, Suthu said the crowds were so overwhelming that the artwork had to be removed before the show ended. All three editions of the artwork were sold.
It is reported that two people who were in different places of art tore it off the wall and ate it.
“Hugely admired, and hotly debated — and devoured not just once, but twice — is a masterpiece of stories shared across the globe,” Sotheby’s wrote.
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Sotheby’s said that Cattelan’s comic “single made the world rethink how we define art.”
“We may be in on Catelan’s joke, but the Comedian has nothing,” wrote Suthu.
Artist Maurizio Cattelan’s “comedian” appears during a media preview of Sotheby’s Evening Auction on Oct. 25, 2024, New York City. (John Nacion/Getty Images/Getty Images)
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The Perrotin gallery described the Italian artist as one of the “most famous” and “controversial artists in the field of contemporary art.”
The gallery said “he has a playful and provocative use of materials, objects, and gestures set in challenging situations that compel comment and engagement.”
Galperin told the Associated Press that the winner will not buy the banana itself, but rather the certificate of authenticity, which gives him permission and authority to reproduce the banana and duct tape on their wall as a work of art by Catelan.
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