It was inevitable. The provocation-turned-contemporary pop icon, Maurizio Cattelan’s The Comedian, has once again disappeared between bites. The famous piece—a banana taped to the wall—was consumed this weekend by a visitor at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, located in eastern France, during the Endless Sunday exhibition.
The unauthorized intervention was quickly contained. The museum’s security team responded immediately, and, true to the conservation protocol for this ephemeral work, the banana was replaced within minutes. As if nothing had happened. As if everything had been planned.
The media outlet Artnet reported the Italian artist’s now classic sarcastic reaction. Cattelan expressed his disappointment that the “spontaneous performer” hadn’t gone further: “He clearly mistook the fruit for the work of art,” the author joked, noting that the visitor also failed to eat the tape and the peel. An incomplete performance, according to the artist.
Since its appearance at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, The Comedian has been much more than a provocation. It has become an allegory for the commodification of art, a mirror of the cultural frivolity of our time, and, for many, an unavoidable critique of the contemporary art system. Sold for figures reaching $150,000—certificate of authenticity included—the work has been “consumed” multiple times: from the memorable intervention by artist David Datuna in Miami to the student who, in 2023, ate it on camera at the Leeum Museum in Seoul.
However, the repeated gesture does not erode its symbolic power. On the contrary: each new bite rekindles the debate, reconfirms its relevance, and perpetuates the ritual cycle of destruction and restoration. The institutions that house it understand this. The Comedian is not conserved; it is replenished.
In the case of the Pompidou-Metz, the work will remain on display until the closing of the Endless Sunday exhibition, scheduled for 2027. Until then, the fruit will continue to hang on the wall as an emblem of absurdity elevated to art.
Centro Pompidou-Metz
1 Parv. des Droits de l’Homme
CS 90490, 57000 Metz, Francia
Maurizio Cattelan presented one of his most sought-after works: “Comedian” at the GUGGENHEIM.
Sigue toda la información de HIGHXTAR desde Facebook, Twitter o Instagram