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Duct-taped banana sold for $6.2m at Sotheby’s art auction

Duct-taped banana sold for $6.2m at Sotheby’s art auction

Justin Sun, Chinese collector and founder of the cryptocurrency Tron, placed the winning bid over the phone.
21 Nov, 2024

A piece of art that is little more than a banana duct-taped to a wall sold at auction for $6.2 million on Wednesday to cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, Sotheby’s said, furthering the universal conversation about what constitutes art.

“Comedian,” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, first rocked the art world upon its debut at Miami’s Art Basel in 2019, drawing such large crowds that the exhibit had to be taken down for public safety and to protect other works on display.

At Sotheby’s in New York on Wednesday, it went from a starting price of $800,000 to $5.2 million when the hammer fell about five minutes later, plus a buyer’s premium, or fee.

Bidding soared past the pre-sale high estimate of $1.5 million, Sotheby’s said, with bidders in the room, on the phone and online.

Sun, the Chinese collector and founder of the cryptocurrency Tron, placed the winning bid over the phone. He paid in crypto and it will be the buyer’s responsibility to replace the banana as it rots, according to Artnet.com.

“This is not just an artwork,” Sun said in a statement to Sotheby’s. “It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community. I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”

Sun said he would eat the banana, as at least two spectators have done in other galleries on the piece’s trip around the world.

Cattelan is known for other bold works such as a golden toilet and a sculpture of the pope struck down by a meteorite.

Art experts said in a Sotheby’s video about the work that it was funny, absurd and a symbol of the excess of the art market, likening it to the Banksy work “Girl with Balloon” that shredded itself during a Sotheby’s auction in London in 2018.

Comments

Naeem Azid Nov 21, 2024 12:03pm
Stupid man and wastage of resources.
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Nov 21, 2024 02:28pm
Joke of the century.
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Shan Nov 21, 2024 06:32pm
Money well spent indeed.
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M.Saeed Nov 21, 2024 11:00pm
idiosyncrasy of the abstract of the abstract art!
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Laila Nov 22, 2024 12:45am
Waste of money. When it could have been invested in charity or social causes.
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Johnny Nov 22, 2024 02:15am
A fool and his money are soon parted.
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