Duct-tape banana art sells for $6.2 million at auction
FILE - Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan's duct-taped Banana entitled "Comedian," is on display during a media preview at Sotheby's in New York, on Nov. 8, 2024. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
A banana that was duct-taped to a wall sold for $6.2 million at auction in New York on Wednesday.
Who bought it?
The banana was purchased by Justin Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform TRON.
In a statement, Sun said the piece "represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community." But he said the latest version of "Comedian" won't last long.
"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," Sun said.
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Who is the artist?
The conceptual piece of art, which is titled "Comedian," was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.
Cattelan is also behind the gold toilet offered to the White House on loan by New York City's prestigious Guggenheim Museum. The museum rejected a request to display Van Gogh's 1888 "Landscape With Snow" work in the residence and proposed the toilet instead.
The banana debuted in 2019
The "Comedian" debuted in 2019 at the Art Basel Miami Beach festival.
Spectators tried to make out whether the single piece of fruit taped to a white wall was a joke and another artist, at one point, took the banana off the wall and ate it.
The piece attracted so much attention that it had to be taken down.
Three other editions of the "Comedian" were sold for between $120,000 and $150,000.