More Than One Point of Veiw of Beaach Art Picture

When I started dating my now husband, the decor in his dorm apartment included a banana that he and his roommates had drunkenly taped to the wall. At that place information technology stayed all semester, through winter break, and then until the end of finals. After their junior year, they took it down but saved it, to one time over again display the shriveled husk in pride of place higher up the common room couch. Twelve years later, believe it or not, he even so has it in a plastic bag somewhere in our apartment.

So imagine my surprise when I arrived at the VIP preview for Art Basel Miami Beach and discovered that Italian creative person Maurizio Cattelan had done exactly the same thing. The most important difference being, of course, that this version—sourced from a local Miami supermarket and on sale from Perrotin, the Parisian gallery with locations in New York and beyond Asia—cost a cool $120,000.

"We sold it already," announced a triumphant Emmanuel Perrotin every bit I took a shut wait at the piece, titledComedian. The buyer, a French woman, has bought work from the gallery before, simply never a work past Cattelan, I was told.

By the fourth dimension I left the booth, a deal on a second edition of the piece had also been closed, sold to a French homo. (Perrotin told him about my hubby'south banana, to reassure him that the banana would historic period well, and the collector threatened to buy that one instead.) Cattelan hasn't prescribed rules for how often the banana will be replaced, simply Perrotin expects to throw out the 1 currently on view at the finish of the week—unless, of course, the collector wants it.

After the second sale, Perrotin quickly texted Cattelan, and the two agreed to enhance the price to $150,000 for the third edition of the work, which they have decided to sell to a museum—and 2 institutions have already expressed interest, according to the gallery. (There are also two artists proofs of the piece of work, simply ane of which is for sale.)

Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian, for auction from Perrotin at Fine art Basel Miami Embankment. Photo by Sarah Cascone.

Though Cattelan is known for being something of an art world prankster, Perrotin was quick to dismiss the thought thatComedian is a joke. Every attribute of the work was carefully considered, from the shape of the fruit, to the angle its been affixed with duct tape to the wall, to its placement in the booth—forepart and center, on a large wall that could have easily fit a much larger painting—he said.

A steady stream of visitors were on hand during my conversation with the gallerist, gawking at the work, photographing it, and even posing with it—sometimes for selfies.

"It'due south best of show!" proclaimed 1 passerby.

Perrotin could inappreciably believe the stir the piece was causing, despite the almost total lack of accelerate promotion. "It's a miracle; I don't know how this happened!" he said, scrolling through his texts with Cattelan and showing me the photos of "copycats" that the creative person's friends had begun sending him less than x minutes later on the preview began.

It'due south rare to run across a Cattelan piece of work at an art fair. Essentially annihilation y'all may take spotted in the past xv years is being sold on the secondary marketplace. Thus, the work's debut was an important moment for Perrotin, who has worked with the artist for 27 years.

Fairgoer Mark Oldman poses with Maurizio Cattelan'southward Comedian. Photo courtesy of Mark Oldman.

"When we started to work together I had to fight to convince collectors i past one to buy his piece of work. To exist able to come up back here at Art Basel Miami Beach…" he trailed off, clearly emotional.

Cattelan has been working on the thought forComedian for almost a year, first creating versions in bronze and resin. Somehow, they were lacking. "Wherever I was traveling I had this banana on the wall. I couldn't figure out how to end it," Cattelan told me when Perrotin handed me the phone with him on the line. "In the end, one mean solar day I woke upwardly and I said 'the banana is supposed to be a assistant.'"

The creative person wouldn't speak to the work'southward meaning, just he was partially inspired by the large number of paintings he'southward seen at galleries recently. "I'k non in Miami, but I'm certain information technology'southward full of paintings as well," said Cattelan. "I thought maybe a banana could be a good contribution!"

The artist and the gallerist arrived at the $120,000 price after several discussions, trying to strike a balance between an insignificant number that would trivialize the piece of work, and an outlandish ane that would exist completely ridiculous.

Despite the artwork'southward hefty price tag, Perrotin isn't worried about someone stealingComedian. There's a spare banana on hand in the booth, and more importantly, without the creative person'south certificate of authenticity, it reverts to being just a banana. In a mode, explained Perrotin, securing a buyer for the piece completed the artwork. "A work similar that," he said, "if you don't sell the work, it's not a piece of work of art."

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Source: https://news.artnet.com/market/maurizio-cattelan-banana-art-basel-miami-beach-1722516

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