It’s not uncommon for new auction records to be constantly set and broken, but it is odd when they are in the field of fruits. However, Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan, literally just a banana duct-tapped to a wall, is just that. Its sale price of US$6.24 million set a record for the most expensive piece of fruit sold at auction, beating a pair of cantaloupes from Japan that sold for US$46,859 in April this year.
While Comedian is not meant for consumption, it represents how the rich consume, interpret, and spend on art, critiquing other aspects of contemporary artwork and its market. It was sold as part of Sotheby’s New York’s The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction and was a highlight of the event, with many coming just to see the infamous banana.
The piece was purchased by Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, whose fascination with the banana stems from what it represents in terms of art and modern technology, an alternative take from what critics have seen as the meaning of the artwork. He also intends on eating the banana, making it possibly the world's most expensive artwork to be eaten as a snack, up there with the other two editions of the banana previously eaten as performance art in 2019 and 2023.
Lot 10 | Maurizio Cattelan (b. 1960) | Comedian, Banana and duct tape
Executed in 2019, this work is number 2 from an edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
20 x 20 x 5 cm
Provenance:
- Perrotin, New York
- Private Collection (acquired from the above in 2019)
- White Cube
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: US$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Hammer Price: US$5,200,000
Sold: US$6,240,000
During the sale, the controversial artwork started bidding at US$800,000, already surpassing the sales of the other editions of this piece. In a matter of seconds, the lot had risen into the two million range with both bidders in the auction room, bidders on the phone, and online bidders vying for the lot. The bidding war was won by Jen Hua the Deputy Chairman, Asia and Chairman, China, Hong Kong for her client with the paddle number 17, and won with the hammer price of US$5.2 million.
The lot’s winner and Hua’s client was Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, who paid for the lot in cryptocurrency and watched the auction live from Hong Kong. In a statement to Sotheby’s Sun stated that "This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community.” Sun also described the piece as historic and plans to eat it in the coming days, paying homage to David Datuna and Noh Huyn-soo, who previously ate the work.
Jen Hua is pictured here holding up the number 17 bidding number following her client’s victory in the bidding war
The 34-year-old executive is also known for his art collection, having been previously associated with Sotheby’s in the past, partnering with the auction house to discuss the topic. In 2021 was the underbidder on the famous Everydays: The First 5000 Days by digital artist Beeple, which was eventually sold by Christie's for US$69.3 million and was the first purely digital work to be offered by a major auction house and accepted cryptocurrency.
Additionally, Sun collects physical work, including Alberto Giacometti's Le Nez (1955), which he purchased from Sotheby's for US$78.4 million in 2021. Business-wise Sun founded Rainberry, a cryptocurrency developer, and once bid US$4.6 million to dine with Warren Buffett, which was controversially postponed due to Sun's legal issues. Between 2021 and 2023, Sun served as Grenada’s representative at the World Trade Organization. As of 2024, Sun's net worth is estimated at around US$1.43 billion, although this fluctuates with the price of cryptocurrency.
A tweet sent out by Sun during the Christie's Beeple auction in 2021
Justin Sun, pictured here on the thrid from the right, next to Warren Buffett during a dinner he paid US$4.6 million for
In total, there are three iterations of Comedian, which debuted at Art Basel Miami in 2019. Two were sold for US$120,000 each, while a third went for a higher, undisclosed price after failing to be purchased by British artist Damien Hirst. The three iterations have been shown in museums and privately exchanged hands, making this specific version of Comedian the first to debut on the auction floor.
It was created by Maurizio Cattelan, an Italian visual artist renowned for his hyperrealistic and satirical works that often poke fun at contemporary events. As for how to interpret Comedian, there are two major competing theories. One is that it is a criticism of how expensive art is to buy. The idea of a banana on the wall can be seen as allowing anyone to create art without any special tools or training.
Alternatively, some see Comedian as a criticism of the art world, hence its name, making a mockery of elitist artistic culture. It plays strongly into the idea that “art is in the eye of the beholder” at that anything can be art as long as the person purchasing it deems it so.
The creator of Comedian, Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan
The bananas have also been prone to consumption. In 2019, performance artist David Datuna ate one of the works just after it had been sold by Art Basel, Miami. Datuna stated that the value of Comedian was in the idea of the work rather than the banana itself.
Additionally, in 2023, one of the pieces was donated to the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul. Art student Noh Huyn-soo consumed the banana and taped it back to the wall. It was promptly replaced, and when asked about his actions, Noh stated, "Damaging an artwork could also be seen as an artwork; I thought that would be interesting... Isn't it taped there to be eaten?” Cattelan himself approved of the action.
David Datuna having eaten Comedian at Art Basel, Miami Beach, 2019
South Korean art student eating Comedian in Seoul, 2023
The version of Comedian being sold by Sotheby’s is one of the works sold by Art Basel back in 2019; however, is it still the same work of art? Once ripe bananas typically only last around 7-10 days at most before rotten. Thus, even if a hungry passerby decides to pass the carefully duct-taped snack, whoever purchased Comedian would have to replace the banana nearly constantly in order to maintain the piece.
Since the original artist is not doing the work himself and the work going into it is so limited, can Comedian even be considered art? In reality, has the buyer only purchased the idea of Comedian and the certificate signed by the artist rather than an actual piece of art? In many ways, parallels can be drawn to Marcel Duchamp’s infamous 1917 urinal "sculpture," which was accused of not being art due to how the artist himself barely altered the work.
Due to this controversy, the critics of the art world have been split on how to treat Comedian. Artnet called the piece the worst of that Art Basel exhibit and accused Cattelan of managing to trick collectors into spending US$120,000 on a banana taped to a wall. New York Times art critic Robin Pogerbin questioned if the piece was even art.
Others praised Comedian, with The Guardian calling it a “genius work,” taking the stance that it was a criticism of out-of-touch elites who don’t even know how much a banana costs. Newsweek called it a “humorous minimalist artwork.” One of the more nuanced takes on Comedian argued that it was a vessel onto which the wider culture and individuals could interpret and directly impart their opinions on art.
Lots that sold for more than US$10 million at The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction:
Lot 23 | Ed Ruscha (b.1937) | Georges’ Flag, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1999
96.5 x 328 cm
Provenance:
- Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles
- Georges Marciano, Los Angeles (acquired from the above)
- Christie's New York, 8 November 2005, lot 69 (consigned by the above)
- Acquired from the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: US$8,000,000 - 12,000,000
Hammer Price: US$13,000,000
Sold: US$13,650,000
Lot 31 | Stuard Davis (1892-1964) | Contranuities, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1963
172.1 x 124.5 cm
Provenance:
- The Downtown Gallery, New York (acquired directly from the artist in 1963)
- Robert Fraser Gallery, London (acquired from the above in December 1963)
- E. J. Power, London (acquired from the above in February 1964)
- Waddington Galleries, London
- Private Collection, London (acquired from the above in 1976)
- Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York (acquired from the above in 1976)
- Acquired from the above in May 1977 by the present owner
Estimate: US$12,000,000-18,000,000
Hammer Price: US$10,500,000
Sold: US$12,150,000
Lot 14 | Willem de Kooning (1904-1977) | Untitled XXV, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1982
177.8 x 203.2 cm
Provenance:
- Estate of the artist
- Mitchell-Innes & Nash and Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
- Acquired from the above in May 2000 by the present owner
Estimate: US$9,000,000 -12,000,000
Hammer Price: US$9,400,000
Sold: US$10,940,000
Auction Details:
Auction House: Sotheby’s New York
Auction: The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction
Date: 20 November 2024
Total Lots: 40
Sold: 35
Unsold: 5
Sale Rate: 87.5%
Sale Total: US$112,287,000