A banana taped to a wall might seem like a joke, but Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s artwork, Comedian, could sell for over $1 million at a Sotheby’s auction on November 20.
The unusual piece first gained fame in 2019 at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair, where three editions of the work sold for up to $150,000 each. Now, it’s expected to fetch even more, sparking fresh debates about what makes something “art.”
Cattelan’s Comedian is a banana taped to a wall with duct tape. When it was first shown, one visitor even ate the banana, but a new one quickly replaced it. Crowds eager for selfies swarmed the piece, prompting organisers to remove it. Sotheby’s explains that buyers won’t get the actual banana but a certificate allowing them to recreate the artwork with fresh bananas and tape.
Critics say Comedian is both playful and thought-provoking. Sotheby’s contemporary art expert David Galperin describes it as a mirror to the art world, questioning how we define value and creativity. Columbia University professor Chloé Cooper Jones adds that the banana might represent deeper issues, like global trade and labor exploitation.
Bananas symbolise imperialism and corporate power, making the artwork a conversation starter about the world’s inequalities.
As Comedian prepares to take centre stage at Sotheby’s, it will share the spotlight with a $60 million painting by Claude Monet, showing how wildly different ideas of art can coexist in the same space. Whether it’s seen as a joke or a profound statement, Comedian is once again making headlines—and sparking curiosity.
