Many might have looked at the Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan’s viral duct-taped banana and thought “hey, I can make that.” Well, while you might have all the materials hanging around in your kitchen, good luck cashing it in at an auction like Cattelan just did. The banana sold for a jaw-dropping $6.2 million (including fees) at a Sotheby’s auction Wednesday evening.
The lucky new owner of a soon-to-be-rotten fruit? A Chinese millionaire and cryptocurrency celebrity, Justin Sun. The entrepreneur snagged the art piece, which Cattelan dubbed Comedian, after bidding started at $800,000 and lasted for around ten minutes. In a statement following the auction, Sun said that the banana “represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community.” Ok, sure.
He continued that, “in the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honoring its place in both art history and popular culture.”
Cattelan’s Duchamp-ian work first appeared at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019. The Perrotin Gallery was able to sell three editions of Comedian for $120,000-150,000 each at the time. But the instillation caused so much buzz and controversy at the event that organizers were forced to remove it from display after a performance artist, David Datuna, ripped the banana off the wall and ate it. Apparently, now you can only do that if you have $6 million floating in the bank.
For the record, as a conceptual piece, the actual banana and duct tape can be replaced. So, no, Sun will not be eating a five-year-old banana.
Sotheby’s estimated that the banana would go for somewhere between $1 million and $1.5 million at yesterday’s auction. The final price landed at $5.2 million plus an extra $1 million in auction-house fees.
In a recent interview, Cattelan discussed the outrageous market value that had been ascribed to Comedian, saying “On what basis does an object acquire value in the art system? The auction will be the apex of its career. I’m eager to see what the answers will be.”
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A Man Bought Maurizio Cattelan’s Viral Banana For $6 Million—He Plans to Eat It
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The fashion photographer Mert Alas previously described his luxury gin, Seventy One, as an “homage to the night.” It was only fitting, then, that Alas would introduce Seventy One to the hustle and bustle of New York City during the wee hours of a rainy Saturday night—backdropped by one of city’s chicest destinations, no less.
To celebrate Seventy One’s New York launch, Alas corralled a who’s-who of the Big Apple’s arts and fashion stars on November 23 at the SoHo hot spot, The Mercer. Invitations for the evening suggested guests arrive to the downtown institution at 8 PM—though, as has become tradition with Alas’s late-night Seventy One fetes, the party didn’t kick off until the clock neared midnight.
The intimate evening was a classic New York gathering with big-name actors like Alexander Skarsgård and Natasha Lyonne, fashion industry players, and top models Amelia Gray Hamlin and Meadow Walker all coming out to celebrate. Attendees were first welcomed at The Mercer’s lobby, where they were treated to small bites and canapés in between sips of the ultra-luxe Seventy One Golden Martini—Alas’s twist on the celebrated cocktail that features rare botanicals and the smoothest of tastes to finish.
The party continued to roll at the hotel’s “if you know, you know” lounge Submercer, located just beneath where Alas welcomed his guests for the evening. Amelia Gray, dressed in a sheer naked dress and carrying a cherry-red handbag, poured her gin martini into the mouth of the model James Yates while Walker and Aweng Chuol posed for photos on the lounge’s crushed-velvet seating. High-energy DJ sets from Skin and The Misshapes ensured that the good vibes—and mountains of gin drinks—were flowing all night long.
