Duct-tape banana art sells for $6.2 million at auction

A piece of conceptual art consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall has sold for $6.2 million at an auction in New York.

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FILE - Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan's duct-taped Banana entitled "Comedian," is on display during a media preview at Sotheby's in New York, on Nov. 8, 2024. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images) The piece of art is called the "Comedian" and was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.

Previous bananas were sold for between $120,000 and $150,000. The most recent banana was sold to a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur. A banana that was duct-taped to a wall sold for $6.



2 million at auction in New York on Wednesday. The banana was purchased by Justin Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform TRON. In a statement, Sun said the piece "represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community.

" But he said the latest version of "Comedian" won't last long. "Additionally, in the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honoring its place in both art history and popular culture," Sun said. RELATED: Popeyes selling $120G Chicken Sandwich duct-taped to a canvas The conceptual piece of art, which is titled "Comedian," was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.

Cattelan is also behind the gold toilet offered to the White House on loan by New York City's prestigious Guggenheim Museum. The museum rejected a request to display Van Gogh's 1888 "Landscape With Snow" work in the residence and proposed the toilet instead. The "Comedian" debuted in 2019 at the Art Basel Miami Beach festival.

Spectators tried to make out whether the single piece of fruit taped to a white wall was a joke and another artist, at one point, took the banana off the wall and ate it. The piece attracted so much attention that it had to be taken down. Three other editions of the "Comedian" were sold for between $120,000 and $150,000.

Information for this article was gathered from The Associated Press and FOX News. This story was reported from Los Angeles..