NEW YORK. A banana duct-taped to a wall might seem like an unusual piece of art, but this simple, everyday fruit could soon fetch more than $1 million at an upcoming auction. The piece, titled “Comedian,” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was first showcased in 2019 at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair, where it quickly became a viral sensation.
The yellow banana affixed to a white wall with silver duct tape is part of a conceptual artwork that has sparked debates across the art world. Some saw it as a playful prank, while others speculated that it was a commentary on the commercialization and absurdity of contemporary art. The piece became so controversial that, at one point, another artist removed and ate the banana, prompting the installation of a replacement. As the crowds for selfies grew thicker, the piece was temporarily removed from display, but three editions of “Comedian” were eventually sold for between $120,000 and $150,000, according to the Perrotin gallery.
Now, “Comedian” has an estimated value of between $1 million and $1.5 million, with an auction scheduled for November 20 at Sotheby’s in New York. David Galperin, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art, described the piece as “profound and provocative.”
“What Cattelan is really doing is turning a mirror to the contemporary art world and asking questions, provoking thought about how we ascribe value to artworks, what we define as an artwork,” Galperin said.
But what exactly are bidders purchasing? Not the same banana that was on display in Miami—the original fruit is long gone. Instead, buyers will acquire a certificate of authenticity that grants the owner the right to reproduce the banana and duct tape on their wall as an original artwork by Cattelan.
“‘Comedian’ is not about the banana itself, but about the permission to recreate it,” Galperin added.
The piece’s title itself hints at the artist’s likely intent not to be taken too seriously. Chloé Cooper Jones, an assistant professor at Columbia University School of the Arts, notes that the artwork’s context should be considered. “Comedian” debuted at an art fair attended by wealthy collectors, where the banana undoubtedly attracted attention on social media. Cooper Jones suggests that Cattelan may have created the work as a challenge for these collectors to invest in something absurd, a commentary on the exclusive and capitalistic nature of the art world.
However, Cooper Jones believes Cattelan’s intention may be deeper than simply poking fun at the elite. Known as a “trickster artist,” Cattelan often uses humor combined with dark themes to provoke thought on deeper societal issues. Cooper Jones pointed out that the banana itself, a commodity with historical ties to imperialism, labor exploitation, and corporate power, could symbolize the darker side of global trade.
“It would be hard to come up with a better, simple symbol of global trade and all of its exploitations than the banana,” Cooper Jones said. “If ‘Comedian’ is about making people think about their moral complicity in the production of objects they take for granted, then it’s at least a more useful tool in terms of the questions that this work could be asking.”
“Comedian” is set to auction alongside one of Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” paintings, which is expected to fetch around $60 million. When asked to compare Cattelan’s banana to Monet’s iconic work, Galperin noted that impressionism was once met with resistance and discomfort before being embraced as art.
“No important, profound, meaningful artwork of the past 100 or 200 years, or our history for that matter, did not provoke some kind of discomfort when it was first unveiled,” Galperin said.
As the auction date approaches, “Comedian” continues to captivate the art world and spark discussions about value, art, and the absurdity of it all. Will a banana taped to a wall truly be worth millions? Only time will tell.
