A banana taped to the wall. Cattelan's new work for Art Basel Miami Beach.

Can a banana taped to the wall be a work of art? This is the new idea of contemporary artist Maurizio Cattelan (Padua, 1960), for sale at Perrotin Art Gallery.

Comedian, this is the title the artist gave to the work, was made with a banana bought in a Miami grocery store and a single piece of duct tape with which the fruit was literally taped to the wall of the gallery’s booth, on the occasion of the famous Art Basel Miami Beach art fair, which takes place in the American resort from December 5 to 8, 2019.

The work was unveiled yesterday by the Perrotin Art Gallery, founded in Paris in 1990 and now present on three continents with a total of six galleries, with which Cattelan has a long working relationship. According to the gallery, it is rare to see a work by Cattelan in an art fair; Comedian is the first work presented unseen in fifteen years. There are three examples of it, all for sale, and according to Artnet, a well-known art market site, two of them have already both been sold for $120,000 to a French man and a French woman, and for the third one Perrotin and Cattelan would consider raising the price to $150,000. They would like to sell it to a museum, and already two institutions have expressed interest, according to the gallery.

Emmanuel Perrotin, founder of the eponymous gallery, told CNN that the bananas are “a symbol of global commerce, a double entendre or the classic device to unleash humor,” as the artist is wont to do with everyday objects that become “instruments of fun and criticism.”

The idea of making an artwork in the shape of a banana reportedly came to Cattelan a year ago: he first thought of a resin or bronze sculpture in the shape of a banana, but then eventually decided to use a real banana. Now, however, the question on everyone’s mind is: but what if the banana rots? What should the collector who buys the work do? Cattelan has not said anything about this. Could this be his umpteenth provocation? The gallery assures that it is not and that it is a real work, but when Cattelan is involved.... you can expect anything.

A banana taped to the wall. Cattelan's new work for Art Basel Miami Beach.

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