Duct-taped banana could fetch $1.5M at Sotheby's fall art sales

The Manila Times

Duct-taped banana could fetch $1.5M at Sotheby's fall art sales  Sotheby’s preview of their autumn art sales in New York City on Nov. 8, 2024 offers an atypical sight -- a banana duct-taped to a wall. The conceptual piece, titled 'Comedian,' by Maurizio Cattelan, debuted in 2019 at Art Basel in Miami and became a viral sensation. Sotheby’s Lucius Elliott, head of Contemporary and The Now Evening auctions, estimates it will sell for $1 million to $1.5 million when it goes under the hammer on Nov. 20.   REUTERS VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital  Sign up to our newsletters: https://tmt.ph/newsletters   Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #themanilatimes #worldnews #banana  #art

Transcript

00:00So, to us, this is a real galvanizing moment for the art market.

00:25It's something that really hasn't been seen before.

00:28Universal art has not historically been the fulcrum of what auctions have seen, but I

00:32think this is something with such universal appeal, with such universal recognizability,

00:37that we really expect it to make a splash.

00:50When it debuted in 2019 at Art Basel in Miami, there were raucous crowds.

00:56It had to be removed from view for the safety of the other artworks.

01:00There was some, a performance artist ate the work.

01:03There are very, very few artworks of this century that provoke the degree of media furore

01:09which this banana taped to a wall did.

01:25What you're buying ultimately is a certificate of authenticity which comprises installation

01:30instructions which are remarkably specific as to the height from the floor that it needs

01:35to be hung, the angle of the duct tape, etc.

01:38The estimate for the work is one to one and a half million dollars.

02:08We also have the pleasure and the honor of offering the collection of Sydell Miller,

02:25one of the great collectors of the 20th century, if not the greatest female collector, certainly

02:30in the last 40, 50 years.

02:33That collection is anchored by incredible Monet Namphaea paintings, which is monumental

02:38in scale, a very rare 1925 Picasso...

03:03The fascination with Gillot as a person, as a sitter, coupled with the incredible strength

03:24of the market for Picasso and the desire for great portraits, particularly that are fresh,

03:30gives this a very unique opportunity to reset the market to an extent for portraits of Gillot

03:36specifically.

03:53This work, which is called La Grande Dame, or The Catwoman, as I mentioned is probably

03:58her most important, certainly most ambitious sculpture from the scale to the overall execution.

04:04What I love about it is that it incorporates all of Carrington's most important influences

04:10from Egyptian art, and there's very literal references to Egyptian mythology in here,

04:17to a Celtic mythology, you see for example the fox that's the leading soul to the underworld,

04:25to Mayan imagery and the influences of Mexico, where she was when she created this work in

04:30the very early 1950s.

04:55This is estimated at five to seven million dollars, which a year ago this time would

05:04have been the highest estimate ever placed on any work by Leonora Carrington by an order

05:10of five times magnitude.

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