Latest news with #Cattelan
7NEWS
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
It's an art piece worth $6m. Someone has eaten it — again
Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's artwork featuring a fresh banana taped to a wall has been eaten by a visitor to a museum in France. The piece, titled Comedian, was eaten by a gallery-goer at the Centre-Pompidou Metz in eastern France on July 12, according to a statement from the museum, published Monday. 'The security team acted quickly and calmly, according to internal procedures,' the gallery said in the statement. 'The artwork was reinstalled a few minutes later,' it said, adding that the banana is 'only a perishable element' that is replaced on a regular basis according to Cattelan's instructions. Centre-Pompidou Metz said the artist was disappointed that the visitor had considered the fruit itself to be the artwork, instead of eating the skin and the tape that held it in place as well. The gallery has not filed a police report. Comedian is intended to demonstrate the 'absurdity of financial speculation and the fragility of knowledge systems that underpin the art market', it said. This is not the first time the artwork has been eaten. In 2019, when Cattelan unveiled Comedian at the Art Basel Miami art fair in Florida, performance artist David Datuna grabbed the banana from the wall, before peeling and eating it in front of hundreds of stunned fair attendees. This became one of the art world's biggest viral moments, and the work sold — with a replacement banana — for $US120,000 ($AU183,000) at the fair. Then, in 2023, an art student took the banana from a wall at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, and ate it. And in November 2024, Justin Sun, a Chinese collector and founder of a cryptocurrency platform, acquired Comedian for $US6.24 million ($AU 9.5 million) at auction — before eating the banana. 'For now, it is perhaps the 'most-eaten' artwork of the last 30 years,' Centre-Pompidou Metz said in the statement.
9 News
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 9 News
Someone has eaten artist Maurizio Cattelan's $9.55 million banana
Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's artwork featuring a fresh banana taped to a wall has been eaten by a visitor to a museum in France. The piece, titled Comedian, was eaten by a gallerygoer at the Centre-Pompidou Metz in eastern France on July 12, according to a statement from the museum, published on Monday. "The security team acted quickly and calmly, according to internal procedures," the gallery said in the statement. "The artwork was reinstalled a few minutes later", it said, adding that the banana is "only a perishable element" that is replaced on a regular basis according to Cattelan's instructions. Centre-Pompidou Metz said the artist was disappointed that the visitor had considered the fruit itself to be the artwork, instead of eating the skin and the tape that held it in place as well. The gallery has not filed a police report. Comedian is intended to demonstrate the "absurdity of financial speculation and the fragility of knowledge systems that underpin the art market", it said. This is not the first time the artwork has been eaten. In 2019, when Cattelan unveiled Comedian at the Art Basel Miami art fair in Florida, performance artist David Datuna grabbed the banana from the wall, before peeling and eating it in front of hundreds of stunned fair attendees. This became one of the art world's biggest viral moments and the work sold — with replacement banana — for $US120,000 ($184,000) at the fair. Then, in 2023, an art student took the banana from a wall at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, and ate it. And in November 2024, Justin Sun, a Chinese collector and founder of a cryptocurrency platform, .
Euronews
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Cattelan's ‘Comedian' banana eaten again at French museum in Metz
It's happened again. Someone walked into a museum, spotted Maurizio Cattelan's banana-taped-to-a-wall artwork, and decided to tuck in. This time, the setting was the Centre Pompidou-Metz in eastern France, where the infamous 'Comedian' (2019) has been on display since May as part of a major retrospective marking the museum's 15th anniversary. A visitor reportedly peeled the banana off the wall and ate it, before security 'rapidly and calmly intervened,' according to a statement from the museum on Friday. The gallery didn't seem especially bothered. 'The artwork was reinstalled a few minutes later,' it said, adding that the banana is a perishable item and is 'regularly replaced according to instructions from the artist.' Cattelan, never one to miss an opportunity for deadpan commentary, told French news agency AFP he was disappointed the visitor hadn't fully committed. 'Instead of eating the banana with its skin and duct tape, the visitor just consumed the fruit,' he said, adding that they had 'confused the fruit for the work of art.' This is at least the fourth time 'Comedian' has been consumed since its debut at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, where it made headlines and prompted eye-rolls in equal measure. The original version was sold for $120,000 (€103,000) by Galerie Perrotin – and not long after, performance artist David Datuna plucked it from the wall and ate it, saying he was simply 'hungry.' Since then, 'Comedian' has become one of the most talked-about – and eaten – pieces of conceptual art in recent memory. In 2023, an art student at Seoul National University helped themselves to the banana during a Cattelan show at the Leeum Museum of Art, also citing hunger. And in 2024, Chinese tech entrepreneur Justin Sun bought an edition of the work at Sotheby's for $6.24 million (€5.3 million), then ate the banana at a press conference nine days later. A post shared by David Datuna (@david_datuna) Despite the snackable nature of the work, each sale includes a certificate of authenticity and detailed instructions for replacement – meaning what's on the wall is technically never the original banana, but part of the artwork's ongoing life cycle. 'For now, it is perhaps the most-eaten artwork of the last 30 years,' the Centre Pompidou-Metz quipped in its statement. So far, no police reports have been filed and no bans have been announced. For now, the fruit's back on the wall – and it may only be a matter of time before someone else gets peckish.
New York Post
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Artist's infamous $6M banana that was duct-taped to a museum wall meets a tragic fate — again: ‘The security team acted quickly and calmly'
It's bananas! A popular and pricey piece of art has been eaten — yet again. 4 The artwork titled 'Comedian' has been eaten for the fourth time. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement Maurizio Cattelan's 'Comedian' — which features a real banana duct taped to a wall — has been replicated by the artist several times, most recently fetching a phenomenal $6.2 million at auction at Sotheby's in New York City. Apparently, hungry art appreciators can't peel themselves away. A version of the weird work that has been on display at the Centre-Pompidou Metz in France since early May was gobbled up by a visitor on July 12, according to a statement from the museum. Advertisement However, both the gallery and artist seemed unbothered. 'The security team acted quickly and calmly,' the gallery said in the statement. A fresh banana was taped to the wall a few minutes later. The gallery noted that the fruit is 'only a perishable element' of the artwork — to be replaced regularly as per Cattelan's instructions. 4 The piece has been replicated by the artist several times and most recently fetched a phenomenal $6.2 million at auction at Sotheby's in New York City. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement The artist wasn't necessarily upset that the banana was eaten; he reportedly was more disappointed that the gallery-goer 'confused the fruit for the work of art' and left the peel and tape untasted. The conceptual comestible, which first debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, has been said to offer a commentary on the ridiculousness of the art world, with its meaning tied to the money and fanfare it attracts — with many articles written about the edible effort since it was unveiled. 'In that way, the work becomes self-reflexive: The higher the price, the more it reinforces its original concept,' Cattelan told the New York Times. Advertisement 'Comedian' has peeled back the pretensions of the creative industry, with Sotheby's saying it has 'single-handedly prompted the world to reconsider how we define art, and the value we seek in it.' Cattelan previously garnered attention for creating a working 18-carat-gold toilet worth $3.5 million called 'America,' intended to poke fun at the US for its excessive wealth. The original 'Comedian' banana was eaten by performance artist David Datuna during the piece's Miami debut — describing the act as a performance piece titled 'Hungry Artist.' The stunt attracted a whole bunch of attention and became one of the art world's biggest viral moments. The work sold — with replacement banana —for $120,000 at the fair. 4 A version of the art piece that has been on display at the Centre-Pompidou Metz in eastern France since early May was eaten by a visitor on July 12, according to a statement from the museum. Stefano Giovannini Over the years, the artwork has garnered global headlines and even appeared on the cover of The Post. In 2023, an art student took the banana from the wall at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, and bit into it. Advertisement The next year, Justin Sun, a Chinese collector and founder of a cryptocurrency platform, acquired 'Comedian' for $6.24 million at auction — and took a bite. 4 The conceptual piece, which first debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, offers a commentary on the ridiculousness of the art world, with its meaning tied to the money and fanfare it attracts. AFP via Getty Images So while it's an original piece, eating it isn't an original idea. 'For now, it is perhaps the 'most-eaten' artwork of the last 30 years,' Centre-Pompidou Metz said in the statement.
Hypebeast
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
Maurizio Cattelan Can't Keep a Banana on the Wall
Summary It was only a matter of time before someone took another Cattelan's infamous banana artwork 'The Comedian' has once again been consumed and this time at the Centre Pompidou-Metz in eastern France. The fruit, taped to a wall as part of the museum's current exhibitionEndless Sunday, was swiftly devoured by a visitor over the weekend. Security responded quickly. Within minutes, the banana was replaced, business as usual. Artnet reported: 'In a characteristically tongue-and-cheek retort, the Italian artist-provocateur said he was disappointed the banana muncher did not also consume the work's skin and tape. The museum-goer, Cattelan noted, had clearly 'confused the fruit for the work of art' and hadn't gone far enough.' Since its debut at Art Basel Miami in 2019, 'The Comedian' has sparked debate, confusion and no shortage of social media engagement. Originally sold for up to $150,000 USD with a certificate of authenticity, the piece has since been eaten multiple times from a viral act by artist David Datuna in Miami to a hungry student at Seoul's Leeum Museum in 2023. Despite the drama, institutions remain unfazed. The banana, after all, comes with clear replacement instructions. According to the Pompidou-Metz, the work will continue to hang until the exhibition ends in 2027. Centre Pompidou-Metz1 Parv. des Droits de l'HommeCS 90490, 57000Metz, France
