In a sale that made it presumably the most costly fruit on this planet, a banana duct-taped onto a wall offered for a staggering $6.2 million at a Sotheby’s public sale in New York on Wednesday (November 20). Titled “Comic”, the conceptual paintings by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was bought by Chinese language crypto entrepreneur Justin Solar at 4 instances its estimated worth. The fee was made in crypto.
In an announcement on his buy, Solar stated the work “represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of artwork, memes, and the cryptocurrency neighborhood.”
He continued, “Within the coming days, I’ll personally eat the banana as a part of this distinctive inventive expertise, honouring its place in each artwork historical past and widespread tradition.”
The paintings
The paintings is only a contemporary banana affixed to a wall with duct tape. Its purchaser receives a roll of duct tape, directions on how one can “set up” the banana and a certificates of authenticity guaranteeing it’s an authentic work. The banana and the duct tape have to be changed, as required.
Talking to The Artwork Newspaper in 2021, Cattelan shared the thought course of behind the work. He stated, “To me, Comic was not a joke; it was a honest commentary and a mirrored image on what we worth. At artwork festivals, pace and enterprise reign, so I noticed it like this: If I needed to be at a good, I may promote a banana like others promote their work. I may play inside the system however with my guidelines.”
Its debut
Created in an version of three, Comic was first displayed at Artwork Basel Miami Seaside in 2019 by Perrotin Gallery. Whereas Cattelan had reportedly bought the bananas at a Miami grocery retailer for roughly 30 cents every, the paintings offered between $120,000 and $150,000. Considered one of these is now within the Guggenheim Assortment. On the honest, the work additionally turned a part of a efficiency, when Georgian artist David Datuna eliminated the banana from the wall and ate it in an act he titled “Hungry Artist.” The banana was subsequently changed.
Cattelan’s first work for a good in 15 years, Comic created a stir instantly, going viral on social media. It additionally led to commotion on the honest and eventually its removing on the final day, attributable to “a number of uncontrollable crowd actions”.
The responses
Whereas some have described the work as a well-conceived commentary on consumerism and artwork, others have panned it. Musician and creator Brian C Nixon’s e book Magnificence (and the Banana) discusses the notions of magnificence and has a duct-taped banana on its cowl. It describes the paintings as “a commentary on the wild world of up to date artwork, speaking how a tradition understands, interprets, and engages with the humanities.”
The creator
Recognized for his sardonic strategy and questioning accepted norms by means of his work, Cattelan usually dwells on humour and irony to impress his viewers. Shuttling between Milan and New York, the self-taught artist, who designed furnishings early in his profession, has repeatedly attracted consideration for his unconventional strategy and topics.
Invited to point out at an exhibition on the prestigious Venice Biennale in 1993, he made an announcement by subletting his exhibit house to a fragrance firm. The Ninth Hour (1999) depicted Pope John Paul II mendacity on the bottom underneath a meteorite, whereas Him (2000) had Hitler on his knees with folded arms. Reflecting on American society and politics, his 2004 sculpture Now depicted a suited wax determine of former US president John F Kennedy, lifeless in an open coffin.
One other of his much-talked-about works is America — a functioning 18-karat gold rest room, which was put in in a restroom on the Guggenheim Museum in New York from 2016 to 2017.
Estimated to be value greater than $4 million, it was stolen in 2019 from a restroom at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, the place it was exhibited.
