Crypto entrepreneur pays $6.2M for viral banana artwork – then eats it

Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun purchased Maurizio Cattelan’s famed banana duct-taped to a wall artwork for $6.2 million. But it didn’t last long, as Sun immediately ate it. 

This marks the third time someone has publicly eaten the Italian artist’s conceptual artwork, titled “Comedian,” which is comprised simply of a banana fastened with duct tape to a wall. This time, it happened days after Sun won the artwork at a Sotheby’s art auction in New York.

Sun, who founded the Tron blockchain in 2017, was filmed eating the viral fruit during a news conference in Hong Kong on Friday. To commemorate the moment, he posted a little tongue-in-cheek comment on X about the taste of the viral fruit. 

VIRAL BANANA ARTWORK DUCT-TAPED TO WALL SELLS FOR $6.2M

“To be honest, for a banana with such a back story, the taste is naturally different from an ordinary one. I could discern a hint of what Big Mike bananas from 100 years ago might have tasted like,” he wrote.

The winning bidder isn’t meant to buy the banana itself. The auction house previously told FOX Business that the winner actually receives a roll of duct tape, one banana, a certificate of authenticity and official instructions for installing the work, the auction house said. 

With the latest purchase, founder and art adviser of The Agency Art House Arushi Kapoor told FOX Business that Sun is “bridging the gap between the crypto world and the traditional art scene,” which she said has “traditionally maintained high barriers for non-traditional collectors.” 

Now, with more tech enthusiasts coming into the fold, she said it is”fostering inclusivity and broadening participation.” 

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“Sun appears to perfectly grasp the conceptual essence of ‘Comedian’ like its commentary on the importance of marketing and consumerism in contemporary culture,” Kapoor said. “There also is talk now that he has offered to purchase 100,000 bananas from the original vendor, who sold them for mere cents – further adding to the artwork’s dialogue on consumerism, but also giving back to the root of the physical work, the vendor who sold it.”

Kapoor added that it “remains to be seen whether Sun will continue this practice or redefine the work entirely by not replacing the eaten banana.” 

Sotheby’s praised the artwork, which carried an estimated value between $1 million to $1.5 million before bidding, as the only piece of art from the 21st century that “has provoked scandal, sparked imagination, and upended the very definition of contemporary art.”  

While the artwork is small, measuring 20 cm by 20 cm by 5 cm, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art for the Americas, David Galperin, described it as “the most influential and radical artworks of the last century.”

In 2019, when Cattelan’s “Comedian” debuted in Miami, it was met with confusion and in some cases, amusement. But the piece gained global attention following its $120,000 price tag at Art Basel. A social media debate quickly ensued about the nature and value of art. 

In December 2019, when Comedian’s installation at Perrotin’s booth was unveiled, Sotheby’s said the crowds were so overwhelming that the artwork had to be de-installed before the end of the fair. All three editions of the artwork were sold. 

“Widely venerated, and hotly contested – and eaten not only once, but twice – the work headlined news stories shared around the world,” Sotheby’s wrote.