It was December 2019 when Maurizio Cattelan captivated the world with his debut at Art Basel Miami Beach with a banana taped to a wall (Comedian) leaving a lasting impact on contemporary culture. His first appearance set an insane record dividing viewers and critics alike causing such pandemonium that he had to be removed from the premises before the end of the fair. Widely revered, and hotly contested no other artwork of the 21st century has stirred so much controversy, but it has also stimulated the imagination and raised the very definition of contemporary art.
After its presentation in 2019, Comedian ossia la banana stretto con ducto (The Banana Tied with Tape) is featured on the cover of The New York Post and became an inescapable media phenomenon. The work is conceived in an edition of three copies plus two artist proofs, one of which is in the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Cattelan as Duchamp's ready made
Literally and metaphorically bringing the mirror closer to the face of contemporary art, The origins of Comedian can be traced back to Duchamp's readymade. As Duchamp transformed a urinal into a seminal work of modern art through the bold signature of the readymade under the pseudonym “R. Mutt”, Cattelan takes the banal into the extraordinary by exploiting the systems of displaying works of art. Through its presentation in a precise context, Cattelan elevates the everyday object to the realm of art, following in the footsteps of Dada and Warhol, for whom the idea, or concept, was born where the importance lies in the process of creation.
The work, estimated at 1-1,5 million dollars, will be offered by Sotheby's up for auction for the first time as a piece strong this November in New York. The work will take to the global stage, kicking off with a one-day exhibition (October 28) in New York and following a world tour including London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taipei, Tokyo and Los Angeles, before returning to New York for pre-auction viewing on October 20.
November.
The artist's auction record was set in 2016, when it sold for $17,2 million.
In many ways, the title of Comedian is an infamous self-portrait of the terrible child: a unique masterpiece achieved through provocation, humor and desecration. Cattelan uses humor to probe the distinction between art and life through a distinctly pop sensibility. The artist told The Art Newspaper: “When art makes us feel something and makes us feel uncomfortable, that's when it has an impact.” In the ways in which his work pleases and makes us uncomfortable, it is at once tragic and comical.
Who is Maurizio Cattelan?
Maurizio Cattelan is among the most brilliant provocateurs in contemporary art. He has persistently disrupted the status quo of art in the world in significant, irreverent and often controversial ways. Describing his work, curator Nancy Spector wrote: “He is ambitious but ironic; comical but critical; and elusive but immediately accessible, given his pop sensibility. Like a seasoned outlaw, Cattelan navigates the fine line between what is socially and culturally acceptable and what is not.” Cattelan has exhibited widely throughout his career, including solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1998), the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2000), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2003), the Musée du Louvre, Paris (2004), and the Menil Collection, Houston (2010). In 2011, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York mounted a major retrospective of his work, titled All. Cattelan has also participated in numerous contemporary art fairs, including the Venice Biennale (1993, 1997, 1999, 2002, and 2011) and the Whitney Biennial (2004).
