An art piece sold for $6.2 million at an auction in New York on Wednesday, but it wasn't a swirling mass of color or an introspective look into someone's soul. It was a banana duct taped to a white wall.
The piece, “Comedian,” was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and first debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019. Even at the time, not everyone was on board with the artwork, as some tried to determine whether it was a commentary on the standards of art or a joke.
But now, “Comedian” has been purchased by a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur, Justin Sun. This was also the third edition of the artwork. According to Sotheby’s, the gallery that handled the sale, the other two sold for between $120,000 and $150,000.
Sun is the founder of the crypto platform TRON and made the hefty purchase, though he didn’t technically buy the one art piece. Sun’s purchase was for the certificate of authenticity, which gives him authority to duct-tape a banana to a wall and call it “Comedian.”
Bidding for the artwork began at $800,000 and, within minutes, reached $2 million before eventually settling on Sun’s winning bid of $5.2 million. The buyer must pay an additional $1 million in auction house fees.
Sun released a statement on his purchase, saying that the artwork “represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community.”
However, he won’t keep this edition of “Comedian” for long, as he went on to say that “ 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.”