A fresh banana taped to a wall—Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s provocative conceptual artwork—was sold for $6.2 million at a New York auction on Wednesday, Sotheby’s announced. The piece, titled Comedian, was first unveiled at the Art Basel show in Miami Beach in 2019, sparking controversy and debate about whether it should truly be considered art, in line with Cattelan’s intentions.
The buyer, Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, acquired the work, which includes the banana and a strip of silver duct tape. The piece originally sold for $120,000 five years ago.
“This is not just an artwork. It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community,” Sun said in a statement. “I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”
The sale, which surpassed expectations, attracted seven potential buyers, with Sotheby’s estimating a price range of $1-1.5 million prior to the auction. Sun’s purchase, however, is not for the banana itself—whose shelf life is limited—but rather for a certificate of authenticity from Cattelan, along with instructions on how to replace the fruit when it decays.
This particular iteration of the work was the third; the first banana was famously eaten by performance artist David Datuna at the Miami show after claiming to feel “hungry.”
Sun, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Tron, said he plans to eat the banana as well. “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,” he remarked.
