UPDATE 12/08/2019: new york-based performance artist david datuna ate maurizio cattelan’s $120.000 banana at art basel in miami. ‘I love maurizio cattelan’s artwork and I really love this installation, it’s very delicious,’ wrote datuna on his instagram account where he posted the whole performance called hungry artist. meanwhile, galerie perrotin insisted that the piece lives on: ‘he did not destroy the work, the banana is the idea,’ said perrotin’s spokesman lucien terras to the herald.
the gallery reported the incident to security but datuna was not arrested.
back in 1999 in milan, italian artist maurizio cattelan literally attached his gallerist, massimo de carlo, to the wall using duct tape, in a sort of crucifixion way. fast-forward to today, the artist has done it again but this time he did it in miami during art basel miami beach 2019 with a banana. called comedian, the artwork has stirred a controversy among the event attendees and the international press as it has been sold — two times already — for USD$120.000 at galerie perrotin‘s booth.
image © designboom
composed of a real banana attached to the wall with just one piece of duct tape, comedian by maurizio cattelan for galerie perrotin at art basel miami beach 2019 showcases the artist’s characteristic commentaries — it’s a hyper-realistic sculpture satirizing popular culture and offering an ironic commentary on society, power, and authority. following the same line of america, an 18-karat gold toilet by cattelan, this piece offers insight into how we assign worth and what kind of objects we value.
image © designboom
‘the idea of this work came to the artist’s mind a year ago,’ comments galerie perrotin. ‘back then, cattelan was thinking of a sculpture that was shaped like a banana. every time he traveled, he brought a banana with him and hung it in his hotel room to find inspiration. he made several models: first in resin, then in bronze and in painted bronze for finally coming back to the initial idea of a real banana.’
this marks the first time cattelan has shown something in an art fair in 15 years.
image courtesy of gallerie perrotin
project info:
name: comedian
artist: maurizio cattelan
gallery: galerie perrotin
presented at: art basel miami beach 2019
