Duct-Taped Banana Sells for $6.2 Million at New York Art Auction

A piece of conceptual art consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall has sold for a staggering $6.2 million at an auction in New York. The artwork, titled “Comedian,” was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and first gained widespread attention in 2019 at Art Basel Miami Beach. During its initial display, the piece sparked both amusement and controversy, with one artist removing and eating the banana, and another vandalizing the display.

The original display led to three editions of “Comedian” being sold for between $120,000 and $150,000. However, the latest auction at Sotheby’s saw the price skyrocket far beyond initial estimates. Bidding started at $800,000 and quickly escalated to $5.2 million, with the final price including auction house fees reaching $6.2 million.

The buyer of the artwork is cryptocurrency mogul Justin Sun, who described “Comedian” as a “cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community.” Sun also announced his intention to personally eat the banana, adding another layer of intrigue to the already provocative piece.

The sale of “Comedian” occurred just a day after another significant art sale, where a painting by Belgian surrealist René Magritte, “The Empire of Light,” sold for $121.2 million at a Christie’s auction. This sale marked a record for Magritte and placed him among the elite group of artists whose works have sold for over $100 million at auction.