Capital Economy, Business and Finance
Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian – a fresh banana attached to the wall with duct tape – goes on sale at Sotheby’s in November with an estimated sale price of up to $1.5 million.
The owner can replace both banana and tape, much as the grandfather’s axe paradox allows for replacement of wooden handle and metal blade while remaining the patriarch’s cleaver. Comedian comes with a certificate of authenticity to differentiate it from other banana-tape combinations.
Cattelan created three versions, two selling for $120,000 in 2019, the third gifted to the Guggenheim. Comedian begins a world tour this week, displayed in New York, London, Paris, Milan, Dubai and Tokyo before bidding starts on 20 November. Its sale could reverse a two-year slump in the art market.
Since global political instability started spooking super-rich buyers in November 2022, the $65 billion industry has seen revenues tumble 30 per cent a year. Sotheby’s and Christie’s have laid off staff and major galleries, including the Marlborough, have closed.
Can a banana cheer the art market up? Perhaps, if it’s a comedian.
