The $6.24 Million Banana: Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian Breaks Records and Redefines Art’s Value
When Maurizio Cattelan duct-taped a banana to a wall and titled it Comedian, the art world buzzed with debates over its meaning. Now, nearly five years after its debut at Art Basel Miami, one edition of the viral artwork has sold for an astonishing $6.24 million at Sotheby’s in New York, far surpassing expectations.
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Get Started NowThe buyer, Justin Sun, a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur, hailed the piece as more than art: “It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges art, memes, and cryptocurrency.” As part of his acquisition, Sun received a roll of duct tape, one banana, and a certificate of authenticity. True to the conceptual nature of the work, neither the banana nor the tape are originals, and the buyer is encouraged to replace them as needed.
This sale is the latest chapter in the artwork’s storied journey. Originally displayed at Art Basel Miami in 2019, Comedian drew massive crowds and sparked viral reactions. The artwork’s notoriety grew further when a performance artist ate one of the bananas, claiming his act was an artistic statement in itself. More recently, a South Korean art student consumed another iteration of the piece during an exhibition, explaining he was simply hungry.
Sotheby’s head of contemporary art for the Americas, David Galperin, described the sale as a pivotal moment for conceptual art. “By putting the work at auction, the public has finally had a say in deciding its value,” he said. The auction not only underscored the value of Comedian as a disruptive cultural artifact but also solidified its place in art history as a defining work of the 21st century.
