Maurizio Cattelan’s perishable sculpture drove some critics bananas. Now it could sell for $1.5 million

For the first time, Maurizio Cattelan‘s famous artwork of a banana canal taped to the wall is heading to the auction block, where Sotheby’s experts say it could be picked up $1.5 million.

Although it may seem easy to the work of art with the title Comedian, at home with your own duct tape and a plain banana, the auction winner will receive a certificate of authenticity and official installation instructions. They also receive a brand new roll of duct tape and a fresh banana. Fortunately, the original fruit is long gone.

“If it is in the core Comedian questions the idea of ​​the value of art, then putting the work on auction in November will be the ultimate realization of its essential conceptual idea,” says David GalperinSotheby’s head of contemporary art for America, in a statement. “The public will finally have a say in determining its true value.”

Five years ago, Cattelan made his debut with three editions of Comedian at Art Basel Miami Beach. Two of the versions sold for $120,000, while the third went for $150,000. Sotheby’s did not specify which edition will be available for purchase.

The duct tape covered banana is often compared to works of art such as those of Marcel Duchamp Fountain (1917) or Tracey Emin‘S My bed (1998), who ask questions about the meaning of art. In 2021, Cattelan secured the Art newspaper‘s Gareth Harris that the work was “no joke”; instead, it was “a heartfelt commentary and reflection on what we value.”

“Speed ​​and business rule at art fairs,” he added. “So I saw it this way: if I had to be at a fair, I could sell a banana like others sell their paintings. I could play within the system, but with my rules.”

While Comedian‘s debut There have certainly been criticisms, but there is no doubt that the piece has sparked a conversation. During the fair, large groups of people quickly formed around the banana, curious about what the special piece entailed. It went viral online and received its fair share media attention. In fact, the installation became so popular that it was dismantled due to safety concerns.

“It is truly one of the most discussed works of the century,” says Galperin Bloombergby James Tarmy. “So, is the $1 million to $1.5 million value scientific? No. But could it go much further? I believe it.”

Intentionally or not, the piece has also become somewhat interactive. At the Art Basel show, artist David Datuna took the banana off the wall and ate it, claiming the act was a performance piece. Last year, Seoul University student Noh Huyn-soo stole the fruit from a gallery wall at the Leeum Museum of Art and took a few bites. Then he taped the peel back to the wall.

Fortunately, because the work of art is a transitory sculpture, its integrity remained unscathed.

“Comedian is a conceptual work of art and the actual physical materials are replaced with each installation,” says an auction spokesperson CNN‘Oscar Holland.

Sotheby’s will sell Comedian in New York on November 20. Before the auction, the bananas and tape will go on a world tour, stopping in cities such as London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taipei, Tokyo and Los Angeles.