Maurizio Cattelan’s banana has sold for USD $6.2 million (with fees).
Last night at the Sotheby’s contemporary art auction in New York, Cattelan’s controversial artwork – which, in its various exhibition runs, gets replaced every three days – was snaffled by the crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun.
In a statement, Sun said that work ‘represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community… In the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honouring its place in both art history and popular culture.’
Indeed, the artwork has long been under threat from its patrons. When the clowning Italian artist first exhibited Comedian (2019), which features a shop-bought banana affixed to wall with duct tape, at the Art Basel Miami Art Fair, it was removed without permission and devoured by a performance artist named David Datuna. Then, in May 2023, a South Korean museum visitor also found their hunger to be insatiable.
