The installation of bananas taped to the wall was hammered by Sotheby's for about 6.2 million USD (158 billion VND).
At the Sotheby's New York auction at 7:00 p.m. on November 20 (morning of November 21, Hanoi time), Comedian by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan fetched a far higher price than expected, from $1 million to $1.5 million. The successful buyer received a banana and a roll of tape, along with a certificate and instructions for installing the work.
According to Sotheby's , beating six bidders, Chinese-born entrepreneur Justin Sun - founder of an e-commerce platform - won. He received a banana, a roll of tape, a certificate and instructions on how to arrange the work to replace it whenever the banana was damaged. The businessman said Commedian "represents a cultural phenomenon that connects the art world ".
The work has been embroiled in controversy over copyright issues. Source from CNN In 2022, artist Joe Morford accused Cattelan of copying the idea of the installation. Banana & Orange (Banana and Orange) was made in 2000. Morford's work consists of a banana and an orange glued with tape to a green background.
Morford then filed a lawsuit against Cattelan, seeking $390,000 in damages. However, Cattelan's attorney said Morford did not have a "valid copyright" to the elements of the work.
Comedian belongs to a group of rare works that need no introduction but quickly exploded into a global phenomenon, appearing on the cover of The New York Post, sparked controversy among critics and viewers. The auction house said that Maurizio Cattelan's creation became the most discussed work of art of the century.
The work consists of a yellow banana, stuck to the wall with tape, by Created by Maurizio Cattelan in 2019. Comedian was introduced to the public by the Perrotin contemporary art gallery at the Art Basel Miami Beach exhibition center in December of the same year.
Emmanuel Perrotin, founder of Perrotin, said there are three versions of the work. Two copies were purchased by two French collectors for $120,000 five years ago. The remaining model, worth $150,000, was sold to a museum.
In previous exhibitions, the banana was replaced whenever it spoiled. Mr. Emmanuel Perrotin commented that the product is "a symbol of global trade, a classic humorous image".
In 2023, at an exhibition of 38 of the artist's works at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, a student ate a banana, then used masking tape to stick the peel to the wall. When asked by museum staff to explain his actions, he replied that he had "skipped breakfast and was too hungry" and that "destroying modern art can be considered a form of art."
Previously in 2019, at the Art Basel exhibition center at the Galerie Perrotin museum in Miami, USA, artist David Datuna also removed a banana from the wall and ate it just minutes after the work sold for $120,000.
Maurizio Cattelan, 64, was born in Padua, Italy, and currently lives and works in New York, USA. He is one of the most famous and controversial artists in contemporary art. The artist often draws inspiration from the real world of people and objects to create.
Outside Comedian, He also caused a stir when he introduced an 18K gold toilet worth 4.8 million pounds, America, which was once on display at the Blenheim Palace exhibition in Woodstock (UK).
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