The world’s most expensive banana has raised $US6.2 million ($9.57 million) after it went under the hammer at an auction in New York.
Background: The yellow banana fixed to the white wall with silver duct tape is a work entitled Comedian by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.
It first debuted in 2019 as an edition of three fruits at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair, where it became a much-discussed sensation.
Was it a prank? A commentary on the state-of-the-art world? Another artist took the banana off the wall and ate it. A backup banana was brought in.
Selfie-seeking crowds became so thick that Comedian was withdrawn from view, but three editions of it sold for between US$120,000 ($184.125) and US$150,000 ($230,156), according to Perrotin Gallery, which was handling its sales at the time.
Now, Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun has bought Cattelan’s viral artwork for US$5.2 million ($7.98 million) at an auction at Sotheby’s New York, according to The Guardian. With the buyer’s premium included, Sun will pay a total of US$6.2 million ($9.57 million).
Key quote: “What you buy when you buy Cattelan’s Comedian is not the banana itself, but a certificate of authenticity that grants the owner the permission and authority to reproduce this banana and duct tape on their wall as an original artwork by Maurizio Cattelan.” — David Galperin, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art.
What else to know: Bidders didn’t buy the same fruit that was on display in Miami. Those bananas are long gone. Sotheby’s said the fruit was always meant to be replaced regularly, along with the tape.
Sotheby’s reportedly acquired the displayed banana for 35 cents earlier that day, according to The Guardian.
Sun will receive a certificate of authenticity along with instructions for installing the artwork and replacing the banana.
What happens next: Sun told The Guardian he plans to eat the banana as a way of “honouring its place in both art history and popular culture”.
