The art world went bananas last night—literally—when Maurizio Cattelan went green. He's a comedian (2019) sparked a ten-minute bidding war at Sotheby's “The Now and Contemporary Evening Sale.” Seven bidders bid it out before the gavel finally came down at a hammer price of $5.2 million, or a total of $6,240,000 in cost. The winning bid came in over the phone, from a mystery buyer who was answered by Jen Hua, Suthu's vice chairman for Asia. At the conference was Suthu creator Oliver Barker, who couldn't resist a timely zinger: “Only at Suthu can you get your expensive banana.” Don't let it slide.” It was an important moment for the Catalans—equal parts absurd and brilliant.
With this sale, the ever-evocative Italian artist has found another trick in the art of performing, happily playing the very system that made him rich. After all, He's a comedian– a timeless but conceptually sharp work of art consisting of a banana pipe attached to a wall – already turned heads when it debuted at Art Basel in 2019, selling for $120,000. Three years and a full market cycle later, a major turning point has been reached: rising to multibillion-dollar sales at the blue-chip auction house. Catelan once described the piece as “an honest analysis and reflection on what we value,” and last night, the market showed that it values this banana more than most fine art.
Shortly after the hammer fell, Justin Sun, the undisputed co-founder of crypto platform Tron, confirmed to X that he was a buyer. Sun framed his purchase as more than just having a viral drawing, it's a phone call He's a comedian “a cultural phenomenon that unites the world of art, memes and the cryptocurrency community.”
Accordingly, He's a comedian it was the only lot in the sale that Sotheby's opened to cryptocurrency payments. Sun's purchase is a subtle play for his product, as the artwork itself—a banana that comes with a certificate of ownership and ascending instructions—shows the flexibility of the concept of NFTs: ephemeral, symbolic and completely dependent on the legal framework and language of its ownership. . Sun even plans to take his role as a collector to a new level, offering to eat bananas as part of what he describes as a “unique artistic experience.”
“I believe this piece will inspire more thinking and discussion in the future and will become part of history,” he said in the same statement. “I am honored to be the proud owner of this landmark work and look forward to its continued inspiration and impact on art lovers around the world.”
In its own way, He's a comedian he did more than just offend; highlights the entangled relationship between physical and digital assets and the conceptual and legal frameworks that underpin their value. Even Emmanuel Perrotin, whose original gallery is selling work at Art Basel, signed on with an Instagram post that read: “The Sotheby's result adds another chapter to its story, which is far from over! The banana will always be a powerful symbol.” One of the three works Perrotin sold in Miami now resides in the Guggenheim Museum, giving it an afterlife that adds another layer to its already iconic status.
But the energy in Suthu's showroom last night wasn't just bananas—it was spine-tingling from start to finish, starting with the work of Japanese artist Yu Nishimura. Bidding opened modestly at $20,000, a figure in line with his prime market prices over the past year, but soon shot the hammer to a jaw-dropping $110,000 ($132,000 in fees) after a flurry of back and forth between phone buyers, online participants and bidders in the room. The job eventually went to Garrette Furo, a young Brooklyn collector and crypto entrepreneur who was sitting in the audience. This result should not be alarming—access to Nishimura has been almost impossible in recent months, with his galleries, Galerie Crèvecœur and Sadie Coles HQ, well placed in different regions. Adding momentum, ARCH, a private foundation in Athens, dedicated an entire exhibition to the artist last summer in a building beneath the Acropolis.
Dynamic bidding continued for the first thirty lots until the evening collided first with Gerhard Richter's. Berg. Estimated to fetch $4 million, the piece dropped to $3.9 million and did not sell. However, at that time the auction had already collected impressive results. Louis Fratino's work jumped from an initial bid of $60,000 to $260,000 ($312,000 in fees) after strong telephone bidding from Europe. This was a solid return, considering the sender had received it at Ciccia Levi's 2021 show. Shortly thereafter, a 2008 Kai Althoff painting—bought from the Gladstone Gallery the same year it was created—sold for $960,000, while Laura Owens' Small Work broke its estimate, doubling to sell for $720,000. Meanwhile, a surreal painting by Pol Tabouret, a rising star and Pinault protégé, raced past its opening bid of $70,000 to fetch $156,000, setting a record for the artist. Hilary Pecis, too, saw a work acquired at the Rachel Uffner Gallery in 2021 sell for $504,000.
However, not all places had the same spark. Photo by Jadé Fadojutimi He taught Thought (2021), a gestive abstraction in pink, which is equally sold within its scale. While the sale met expectations, it lacked the drama one might expect, especially given his sold-out debut at the Gagosian, which likely added more heat to his market. Likewise, Richard Prince Nurse Practitionera rare offering from his “Nurse” series, also came in within its estimate, selling for $6.7 million after chasing a bid between the phones and the room. While “Nurse” works saw stratospheric prices in the mid-2000s, reaching nearly $9 million, their market cooled significantly during the 2008 recession, making last night's result consistent with recent valuations.
Surprisingly, the lot follows Catelan's He's a comedian-which may have overshadowed the viral moment – was actually done with power. Suzanne Jackson's shocking 1974 painting, which came to auction after a year of institutional acclaim, including the Whitney Biennial, defied expectations by doubling its high estimate for $288,000. Miyoko Ito, a Chicago-based “Allusive Abstractionist” since the 1980s, earned $495,000 for work from her limited body of work, a solid result given the artist's slow but steady rise in the market, with a record of $560,700 set last year. Myron Stout, known for his black and white canvases, also shined with a new work that went to auction for $900,000, well above his estimate of $300,000-500,000.
Not all big names bring fireworks. Ed Ruscha's film-inspired episode grossed an estimated $3 million, although six works released directly from the Roy Lichtenstein Estate fared well, with five estimates exceeding and totaling $18 million. Later, Ruscha's unique work, Flag of Georges (1999), sparked a fierce bidding war between telephone bidders and the man sitting on the front row, eventually selling for $13,650,000—a strong return considering its previous sale at Christie's in 2005 for $1,584,000. Christopher Wool's signature text painting from 1992, part of the once tough “Zombie Formalists” market, fared well, earning $2,420,000. Agnes Martin is soft Untitled #12 (1999) also saw a decent result, selling slightly above its average at $3,120,000.
As the sale drew to a close, the earlier enthusiasm gave way to a noticeable coolness. Jeff Koons' The Woman in the Bath hit the block to end the silence—both in the room and on phone and online bids. A modest bid for the chandelier managed to bring it in at $9.8 million, but the work ultimately went unsold. Last season, Suthu recorded four additional unsold works, including pieces by Cy Twombly, the aforementioned Gerhard Richter and Jasper Johns, bringing the award count to five. Not bad for a sale of forty-six lots—especially considering that three were withdrawn before the auction began. Other results in the latter half were solid if unremarkable, with works such as Yayoi Kusama's signature yellow pumpkin portrait selling within the $2,340,000 range.
By the end of the night, Suthu had reached $112.3 million. Although Catelan's banana didn't have much of an impact on the final tally, it was undoubtedly the showstopper of the evening, overshadowing all other results with its silliness and cultural chaos. The strong overall sales performance suggests that the market remains strong, even if some marquee names failed to deliver fireworks. After a day, however, few seemed concerned about the state of the art market. Instead, many conversations revolved around it He's a comedianTime to catch up on the subject and its impact on art history. With auction week in full swing, all eyes now turn to Christie's 21st Century Auction tonight—the market's final litmus test before Miami Art week begins.
