It is not much more than a banana stuck to the wall with tape, however the conception of the Italian artist, creator of “conceptual” works Maurizio Cattelan once again caused a sensation in the art market last Wednesday night in New York: it was acquired for 6.2 million. dollars from a Chinese-American businessman at an auction.

In the hall of the auction house Sotheby’s seven potential buyers or their representatives in person and many more by phone or digitally fought a real battle to acquire the “Comedian” project.

It is a banana, stuck to the wall with a piece of silver tape.

For several minutes, the price went up, the hits continued, it went from $800,000 to $5.2 million, $6.2 million. dollars if costs are included, when the hammer was last heard.

A short time later it was announced in a Sotheby’s press release that Justin Sun, founder of the cryptocurrency platform Tron, is the buyer.

“It’s not just about art. It represents a cultural phenomenon that has created a bridge between the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community,” commented the businessman originally from Xining, China. He clarified that he meant to “eat the banana”, doing so as a “unique artistic experience” and to honor “her place in art history and popular culture”.

Thirty-something Justin Sun had already attracted interest when he acquired Alberto Giacometti’s 2021 sculpture for $78.4 million.

The particular conception of the iconoclastic and deliberately provocative creator Maurizio Catalan, which had three versions, was intended to raise questions about the meaning of art and its value. It has been much discussed, since the first exhibition in which it was presented, in 2019 in Miami, where another artist ate the fruit to denounce the price of the work, $120,000 at the time. Another specimen was donated to the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Sotheby’s had yesterday estimated the value of this “project” between 1 and 1.5 million. dollars. The terms of the sale provide that the buyer will receive a certificate of authenticity and instructions on how to replace the fruit.

Maurizio Cattelan was already known in the space for previous provocative creations, such as a golden toilet and a sculpture depicting the pope being crushed by a meteorite.

Art market experts noted in the auction house’s own video that the sale was laughable, absurd and a palpable demonstration of the excesses of this market, drawing parallels with Banksy’s “Girl with Ballon,” which also self-destructed at a Sotheby’s auction in London in 2018.