Viral banana artwork has sold again — this time for $6.24 million

By Oscar Holland, CNN

(CNN) — When a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for $120,000 in 2019, social media uproar and an age-old debate about the meaning of art ensued.

But artist Maurizio Cattelan’s viral creation, titled “Comedian,” has proven a sound investment for one collector: One of the artwork’s three “editions” smashed estimates to sell for $6.24 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Wednesday.

The auction house had estimated the work to go for between $1 million to $1.5 million; bidding began at $800,000.

During the sale, auctioneer Oliver Barker described the work as “iconic” and “disruptive,” while joking that selling a banana at auction were “words I never thought I’d say.”

Shortly after the sale, Sotheby’s revealed that Justin Sun, a Chinese collector and founder of a cryptocurrency platform, had acquired the work.

“This is not just an artwork,” Sun said in the press release. “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.”

As the winning bidder, he will receive a roll of duct tape and one banana, as well as a certificate of authenticity and official instructions for installing the work. Prior to the sale, Sotheby’s confirmed to CNN that neither the tape nor, thankfully, the banana are the originals.

“‘Comedian’ is a conceptual artwork, and the actual physical materials are replaced with every installation,” an auction spokesperson said via email at the time.

Cattelan and French art gallery Perrotin made headlines around the world five years ago when they displayed “Comedian” with a six-figure asking price at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair. The original was created using a banana bought in a Miami grocery store, though the gallery said it could be replaced, as per the artist’s instructions.

The art world was split on the work’s merits, though some critics saw it as rooted in the rich tradition of conceptual works — dating back to Marcel Duchamp’s famous mounted urinal — that question the value of art itself. Crowds soon formed, with fair attendees lining up to see the viral installation.

Events took an unexpected turn when performance artist David Datuna grabbed the banana from the wall, before peeling and eating it in front of hundreds of stunned fair attendees. He later defended the move as an artistic performance in its own right, not an act of vandalism.

The Miami installation was eventually removed amid public safety concerns, but all three editions were sold at the fair. Two were bought by private collectors for $120,000, while the third was purchased for a higher (but undisclosed) sum, and was later donated to The Guggenheim museum in New York.

In interviews given since the Miami installation, Cattelan has described “Comedian” as a work of commentary. Speaking to the Art Newspaper in 2021 he said it was “not a joke,” calling the viral installation “a reflection on what we value.”

The Italian artist, who is known for satirical pieces that challenge popular culture, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment when the auction was announced in October.

In a press release announcing the sale, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art for the Americas, David Galperin, had described “Comedian” as a “defiant work of pure genius.”

“Balancing profound critical thought and subversive wit, this is a defining work for the artist and for our generation,” Galperin said, adding: “If at its core, ‘Comedian’ questions the very notion of the value of art, then putting the work at auction… will be the ultimate realization of its essential conceptual idea — the public will finally have a say in deciding its true value.”

While this marked the first time “Comedian” has appeared at auction, the work was recently exhibited at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea. It was eaten then, too: An art student from Seoul National University removed the fruit and devoured it, before taping the peel back to the wall.

“The student told the museum he ate it because he was hungry,” a gallery spokesperson told CNN after the 2023 incident. The museum later replaced the eaten banana with a fresh one.

Sun said in the press release of Wednesday’s auction that he too, planned to eat the fruit. “Additionally, 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.”

Sotheby’s exhibited the artwork in New York, London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taipei, Tokyo and Los Angeles ahead of the sale.

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CNN’s Stephy Chung contributed to this report.