Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's controversial artwork "Comedian," a banana duct-taped to a wall, was sold for $6.24 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York. The sale, which took place after a six-minute bidding war, exceeded initial estimates of $1 million and has reignited global debate about the value and definition of art.
The piece first gained attention when it was presented at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, where it was originally priced at $120,000. Its simple composition—a banana affixed to a wall with a strip of silver duct tape, hung exactly 160 centimeters from the floor—sparked discussion about the notions of art and value. The artwork's presentation led attendees to question whether it was a joke or a commentary on questionable standards among art collectors.
NBC, Die Zeit, Fox, and ABC were among the news outlets that reported the sale.
At the Sotheby's auction, bidding for "Comedian" started at $800,000 and quickly rose to $5.2 million, with bidders in the room, on the phone, and online pushing the price above $5 million. Auctioneer Oliver Barker seemed shocked at the flurry of bids. "These are words I never thought I'd say. Five million for a banana. It's your expensive banana, Jen," the auctioneer joked at one point speaking to one of the auction house staffers.
Shortly after the auction, Justin Sun, the 34-year-old founder of the cryptocurrency platform TRON, claimed to be the buyer of "Comedian." Sun placed the winning bid over the phone and reportedly paid for the artwork using cryptocurrency. In a statement from Sotheby's, Sun said, "It's not just art. It represents a cultural phenomenon that creates bridges between the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community." He added, "I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history."
The sale of "Comedian" has furthered the universal conversation about what constitutes art, with some people incredulous, others fascinated, and still others outraged. Critics say that every major artwork also attracts anger, and experts agree that "Comedian" is meant to be funny while poking at the absurdities of the art world. "The important thing to know about Maurizio is that his jokes are serious and his serious work is funny," Vogue editor Dodie Kazanjian said in a video produced by Sotheby's. "There's something very deep in what Maurizio does, so the veneer of it might look like a banana, but there's something else always at the core of what he's saying," Kazanjian added.
Cattelan is known for his often quirky sculptures, including "America," a solid gold toilet offered to the White House on loan by the Guggenheim Museum, and "La Nona Hora" (The Ninth Hour), which depicts Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite. He said he proposed "Comedian" as "a reflection on what we value." "Life is often tragic and comic at the same time. My works address these two facets," he added.
Nancy Durrant, an art critic, commented that Cattelan's sense of humor and use of comedy sets him apart as an artist. Sotheby's called Cattelan "among contemporary art's most brilliant provocateurs" and described his works as "revolutionary," noting they "shared in a spirit of iconoclastic pranksterism that provoked audiences to question the meaning of art."
"Comedian" has a history of attracting attention. At Art Basel Miami Beach, the exhibit drew such large crowds that it had to be removed to protect other artworks and for public safety. On one occasion, the American performance artist David Datuna took the banana off the wall and ate it, but he was not charged for the act, and the artwork was replaced. This act, titled "Hungry Artist," further fueled discussions about the nature of art and ownership.
The buyer of "Comedian" receives a certificate of authenticity and instructions on how to replace the fruit as it inevitably decays. Maurizio Cattelan's instructions specify that the ripe banana should be replaced every seven to ten days. It will be the responsibility of the owner to maintain the artwork by replacing the banana and affixing it with duct tape in the specified manner.
Sotheby's stated that "Comedian" is framed in "a historical legacy of conceptually bold masterpieces that redefined what art could be," comparing it to works like Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" and Robert Rauschenberg's "Erased de Kooning Drawing." David Galperin, Sotheby's Americas head of contemporary art, described "Comedian" as "one of the most brilliant ideas in the history of conceptual art." He added, "There is no better forum to adjudicate the value of art and a single object than the platform of auction.
The artwork's sale exceeded that of other significant works. On the same evening, "Comedian" was sold for more than Roy Lichtenstein's artwork "Oval Office (Study)," which sold for $4.2 million. The sale came a day after a painting by Belgian surrealist René Magritte sold for $121.2 million, a record for the artist, at a separate auction.
Justin Sun stated his intention to "eat the banana to make it a unique artistic experience and honor its place in both art history and popular culture," announcing that he would soon "personally eat the banana." He added, "The latest version of 'Comedian' won't last long."
The sale of "Comedian" not only highlights the ongoing debate about the nature and value of art but also reflects the current intersection of art with popular culture and technology. As the artwork continues to inspire conversations around the world, it challenges viewers to consider the boundaries of art and the factors that determine its worth.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq