Last Laugh? Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comedian,’ a Duct-Taped Banana, Sells for $6.2 Million at Auction

Maurizio Cattelan’s hotly debated, fruit-based artwork just sold for six times initial expectations.

Sold as part of Sotheby’s The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction, Comedian, which consists of a single yellow banana and a strip duct tape, was originally estimated to fetch anywhere from $1 million to $1.5 million. However, fierce competition between seven bidders eventually drove the price up to $5.2 million by the time the hammer fell, with an additional $1 million in auction house fees. The winning bid belonged to Justin Sun—an entrepreneur and founder of cryptocurrency platform Tron—who now owns the certificate of authenticity that permits him to tape any banana to the wall 63 inches (160 centimeters) from the ground and call it Comedian.

“This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community,” Sun wrote in a statement on his personal Instagram. “I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”

Comedian famously first grabbed headlines when it debuted at Art Basel Miami in 2019, its absurdist nature quickly causing controversy. Despite the sensation and subsequent handwringing, Cattelan, widely considered a provocateur and even “trickster,” claims the inspiration for the work wasn’t complicated at all. “There’s no big story behind it: I was playing with bananas for months, trying to figure out the best way to use it, either for a [photo] shooting or a work,” Cattelan told Robb Report in 2020. “I tried it in metal and plastic, but it never convinced me enough to be shown . . . Then I came out with the decision to simply present it as it is, instead of re-presenting it. And it worked well, much more than I would ever expect!”

As for the future of the very perishable Comedian? Its new owner has already made his plans known. “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 on Instagram.