MIAMI (AP) — 3D-printed cocktails, a traffic jam sculpture made of hundreds of tons of sand and more celebrity sightings than a Kardashian Christmas party were all part of over-the-top festivities during the week of Art Basel Miami, but it was a banana that stole the show.
The most talked-about artwork of the week was titled “Comedian” — a spotty banana duct-taped to a wall by artist Maurizio Cattelan.
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According to artnet News, two pieces quickly sold for $120,000. The Paris-based Perrotin gallery raised the price to $150,000 for the third piece, which will be sold to a museum. The bananas were bought at a local grocery store. No instructions were given on what to do as the banana ages.
The gallery did not respond to several emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
On Saturday, David Datuna removed the banana from the wall, unpeeled it and took a bite as a large crowd documented it with their phones.
“I respect Maurizio but it’s art performance. Hungry artist,” he said.
“You have more? $150,000,” he joked.