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☆ Viral banana artwork has sold again — this time for $6.24 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But artist Maurizio Cattelan’s viral creation, titled “Comedian,” has proven a sound investment for one collector: One of the artwork’s three “editions” smashed estimates to sell for $6.24 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Wednesday. The auction house had estimated the work to go for between $1 million to $1.5 million; bidding began at $800,000. Prior to the sale, Sotheby’s confirmed to CNN that neither the tape nor, thankfully, the banana are the originals. The Miami installation was eventually removed amid public safety concerns, but all three editions were sold at the fair. In interviews given since the Miami installation, Cattelan has described “Comedian” as a work of commentary.

Persons: Maurizio Cattelan’s, ”, , Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s, Justin Sun, ” Sun, “, ’, Marcel Duchamp’s, David Datuna, David Galperin, ” Galperin Organizations: CNN, Art Basel Miami Beach, Guggenheim, Art Newspaper, Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul National University Locations: New York, Miami, Americas, Seoul, South Korea, London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taipei, Tokyo, Los Angeles

A banana duct-taped to a white wall — or an acclaimed piece of art, depending how you look at it — sold at a Sotheby's auction for $6.24 million on Wednesday. The artwork debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2019 and was initially estimated to sell around $1.5 million, according to Sotheby's. At one point, someone even took the banana off the wall and ate it. According to Sotheby's, Cattelan "single-handedly prompted the world to reconsider how we define art, and the value we seek in it." As Galperin put it, "There is no better forum to adjudicate the value of art and a single object than the platform of auction."

Persons: —, Maurizio Cattelan's, Nancy Durrant, Maurizio Cattelan, David Galperin, Sotheby's, rhapsodically, Durrant, Lucius Elliot, Durrant —, Elliot, Maurizio, Emmanuel Perrotin, Perrotin, Galperin Organizations: Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Basel, Americas, New, New York Post, Vogue Locations: New York

☆ How a viral, duct-taped banana came to be worth $1 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But a banana duct-taped to a wall? That might sell for more than $1 million at an upcoming auction at Sotheby's in New York. The yellow banana fixed to the white wall with silver duct tape is a work entitled "Comedian," by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Now, the conceptual artwork has an estimated value of between $1 million and $1.5 million at Sotheby's auction on Nov. 20. When asked to compare Cattelan's banana to a classic like Monet's "Nymphéas," Galperin says impressionism was not considered art when the movement began.

Persons: Maurizio Cattelan, David Datuna, David Galperin, Galperin, Sotheby's, Cattelan, Chloé Cooper Jones, Cooper Jones, Claude Monet Organizations: Art Basel Miami Beach, Columbia University School of, Arts Locations: Miami Beach , Florida, Sotheby's, New York, Italian, Selfie, Miami

☆ Maurizio Cattelan’s viral banana artwork ‘Comedian’ could now be worth $1.5 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But artist Maurizio Cattelan’s viral creation, titled “Comedian,” may yet prove a sound investment: On Friday, auction house Sotheby’s announced that one of the artwork’s three “editions” is going back on sale — this time with an estimate of $1 million to $1.5 million. “‘Comedian’ is a conceptual artwork, and the actual physical materials are replaced with every installation,” an auction spokesperson said via email. The Miami installation was eventually removed amid public safety concerns, but all three editions were sold at the fair. In interviews given since the Miami installation, Cattelan has described “Comedian” as a work of commentary. An installation shot of "Comedian" released by Sotheby's auction house ahead of the sale.

Persons: Maurizio Cattelan’s, ”, Sotheby’s, “, ’, Marcel Duchamp’s, David Datuna, David Galperin, ” Galperin Organizations: CNN, Art Basel Miami Beach, Guggenheim, Art Newspaper, Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul National University Locations: Miami, New York, Americas, Seoul, South Korea, York, London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taipei, Tokyo, Los Angeles

☆ The art market is in a correction as big spenders fade
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The number of wealthy collectors surveyed who plan to purchase art in the next year fell to 43% from over half in 2023. The median spending on art by wealthy collectors remains stable at around $50,000 a year, according to the survey. Higher interest rates also raised the opportunity cost of buying art, since wealthy collectors could earn an easy 5% or more from cash and Treasuries. Just as in the classic-car market, the art market is going through a generational shift that's created a mismatch between supply and demand. According to the survey, the high end of the art market, or works priced at $10 million or more, was the strongest before 2022.

Persons: Andy Warhol, Jean, Michel Basquiat, Wiktor, Robert Frank, Phillips, Bonhams, Paul Donovan, Xers, they're, Donovan, Gen Xers, Gen Organizations: Art Basel, UBS Survey, UBS Global Wealth Management, Art Basel Miami Beach, Dealers, UBS Locations: London, United Kingdom, Christie's, Sotheby's, New York, East, Ukraine, Europe, China

☆ Museum’s beer can artwork accidentally thrown in trash by staff member
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-08 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A lift technician at a museum in the Netherlands mistakenly threw away a piece of artwork made to look like two empty beer cans. “Our art encourages visitors to see everyday objects in a new light. “He was just doing his job in good faith”, said van Zanten. They were cleaned and then displayed on a traditional plinth at the museum entrance, according to the statement. Last year, an artwork consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall was eaten by a hungry visitor to a gallery in Seoul, South Korea.

Persons: Alexandre Lavet, ”, Sietske van Zanten, van Zanten, it’s, Alexandre Lavet’s, “, Elisah van den Bergh, hasn’t, Maurizio Cattelan Organizations: CNN, LAM, Art Basel Miami Beach Locations: Netherlands, French, Lisse, Amsterdam, Seoul, South Korea, Italian

☆ The super-rich are buying more ultra-customized Rolls-Royces and Lamborghinis
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Lamborghini sold more than 10,000 vehicles last year for the first time ever and Ferrari had a more than 17% increase in revenue. But customers purchasing Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces and Bentleys have an even wider array of infinitely customizable paint colors and interior materials, to start with, than carmakers offer for less expensive brands. If the customer has a favorite shirt, for example, the car paint could be matched to the fabric color. At Dixon’s Rolls-Royce dealership three quarters of the roughly 90 cars sold each year include some degree of custom options, she said. While she and Rolls-Royce’s design team can provide guidance, in the end, the choices have to be the customer’s.

Persons: Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, ”, Stephan Winkelmann, Lewis Hamilton, Altrata, Royce Cullinan, Javier Gonzalez Lastra, “, ” Gonzalez Lastra, Pietro Frigerio, Kellyn Dixon, Dixon, Bugatti Chiron, Bugatti, Chiron, Lamborghini’s Winkelmann Organizations: California CNN, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, Royce, CNN, Ferrari’s, Tema, Volkswagen, Ford, Art Basel Miami Beach, Rolls Royce, Bugatti, Bugatti Bugatti Locations: Irvine, California, Newport Beach , California, Irvine , California, Goodwood

In order to face either one head on, you must stand on a small, uneven platform of homemade adobe bricks. This is a message from the artist: He’s not interested in a seamless viewing experience. It recalls his contribution to the 2017 Whitney Biennial, where he created a room of adobe bricks. Here, a winding path of bricks connects life-size portraits of members of esparza’s largely queer community. The paintings are also on adobe, referencing his Mexican heritage and accentuating his subjects’ brown skin.

Persons: rafa esparza’s, He’s, JILLIAN STEINHAUER Organizations: Art Basel Miami Beach, Biennial Locations: Los Angeles, New York

☆ The hottest holiday gift is a massive, half pound Fruit Loop
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Just in time for the holidays, artist collective MSCHF is releasing its newest playful art piece: a giant, 930-calorie, $19.99 fruit loop. The unauthorized massive fruit loop is the group’s latest lighthearted experiment with consumerism. Each one weighs “almost half a pound,” according to MSCHF’s website for the product. In an emailed statement, Kellogg spokesperson Kris Bahner told CNN that the “Big Fruit Loop” constitutes copyright infringement. “Kellogg Company does not have a relationship with MSCHF and we were not involved in the creation of the Big Fruit Loop.

☆ FTX t-shirts and swag were stashed away in trash bags during Miami's Art Basel, and some crypto diehards took them home as souvenirs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Solana Embassy, once backed by Sam Bankman-Fried, gave away free FTX t-shirts at Art Basel. Among the stash were close to 1,000 FTX Miami t-shirts, FTX bean bags, a framed Miami Heat jersey that featured an FTX logo, and a signed poster of chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen who took part in an FTX-sponsored tournament. Solana tweeted about its events in Miami and said it had "about 1,000 FTX Miami shirts to get rid of." The t-shirts were originally only supposed to be free for those who opened FTX accounts at the Solana Embassy. The Solana Embassy previously housed an FTX Lounge, and the exchange was its biggest financial sponsor, according to Norby.

☆ An ATM art installation mocks wealthy Art Basel guests by ranking their bank balances on an arcade-like leaderboard
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An ATM at Art Basel Miami Beach is ranking users' bank balances with photos of them. Of the 93 ATM users seen in one recording, the bottom eight had $0.00. Daniel Greenberg, MSCHF co-founder, told CNN that "ATM Leaderboard' is an extremely literal distillation of wealth-flaunting impulses." The art collective chose the Miami location because "there is a dense concentration of people renting Lamborghinis and wearing Rolexes." And because the leaderboard keeps a continuous record, MSCHF hopes that they can show the ATM at more events as well.

An ATM installation at Art Basel Miami Beach is displaying and ranking people's bank balances. An ATM is typically used in conjunction with a checking account, which would mean people have tens of thousands — even millions — readily accessible. A checking account shouldn't hold all your moneyA checking account is only one part of a smart banking setup. One checking account is for bills, and the other is for spending via debit card. One savings account is for your emergency fund, and the second is for other goals.

☆ Art Basel Miami Beach Plays It Safe in the Sun
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Brian P. Kelly | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Miami Beach, Fla. The Miami area has always been known to push boundaries. It serves as a financial gateway to the Americas and dared to put the Key lime into a pie. It arguably invented the hurricane party and had no small role in America’s 1980s cocaine habit. Which makes the risk-averse nature of 2022’s Art Basel Miami Beach especially surprising.

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