When a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for $120,000 in 2019, social media uproar and an age-old debate about the meaning of art ensued.
But artist Maurizio Cattelan’s viral creation, titled “Comedian,” may yet prove a sound investment: On Friday, auction house Sotheby’s announced that one of the artwork’s three “editions” is going back on sale — this time with an estimate of $1 million to $1.5 million.
For their money, the winning bidder will receive a roll of duct tape and one banana, as well as a certificate of authenticity and official instructions for installing the work. Sotheby’s confirmed to CNN that neither the tape nor, thankfully, the banana are the originals.
“‘Comedian’ is a conceptual artwork, and the actual physical materials are replaced with every installation,” an auction spokesperson said via email.
Cattelan and French art gallery Perrotin made headlines around the world five years ago when they displayed “Comedian” with a six-figure asking price at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair. The original was created using a banana bought in a Miami grocery store, though the gallery said it could be replaced, as per the artist’s instructions.
The art world was split on the work’s merits, though some critics saw it as rooted in the rich tradition of conceptual works — dating back to Marcel Duchamp’s famous mounted urinal — that question the value of art itself. Crowds soon formed, with fair attendees lining up to see the viral installation.
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Events took an unexpected turn when performance artist David Datuna grabbed the banana from the wall, before peeling and eating it in front of hundreds of stunned fair attendees. He later defended the move as an artistic performance in its own right, not an act of vandalism.
The Miami installation was eventually removed amid public safety concerns, but all three editions were sold at the fair. Two were bought by private collectors for $120,000, while the third was purchased for a higher (but undisclosed) sum, and was later donated to The Guggenheim museum in New York.
Sotheby’s would not reveal the identity of the seller in November’s auction, but said the work’s current owner had acquired it from the collection of one of the original buyers.
In interviews given since the Miami installation, Cattelan has described “Comedian” as a work of commentary. Speaking to the Art Newspaper in 2021 he said it was “not a joke,” calling the viral installation “a reflection on what we value.”
The Italian artist, who is known for satirical pieces that challenge popular culture, did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment about November’s sale.
In a press release announcing the sale, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art for the Americas, David Galperin, described “Comedian” as a “defiant work of pure genius.”
“Balancing profound critical thought and subversive wit, this is a defining work for the artist and for our generation,” Galperin said, adding: “If at its core, ‘Comedian’ questions the very notion of the value of art, then putting the work at auction… will be the ultimate realization of its essential conceptual idea — the public will finally have a say in deciding its true value.”
While this marks the first time “Comedian” will appear at auction, the work was recently exhibited at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea. It was eaten then, too: An art student from Seoul National University removed the fruit and devoured it, before taping the peel back to the wall.
“The student told the museum he ate it because he was hungry,” a gallery spokesperson told CNN after the 2023 incident. The museum later replaced the eaten banana with a fresh one.
Sotheby’s intends to exhibit the artwork ahead of the sale, which takes place at the auction house’s New York headquarters on November 20. “Comedian” will be put on show there on Monday before it embarks on a world tour stopping in London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taipei, Tokyo and Los Angeles.
