“Hungry artist” eats $150,000 banana during an art fair

The banana stuck to the wall by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was the most admired work in recent days at the Art Basel art fair in Miami. But on Saturday afternoon another artist decided to steal the show by eating the banana, much to the surprise of the visitors present.

On the Instagram of New York artist David Datuna, you can see in a video how he quietly walks over to the artwork and takes the banana off the wall. “This is an art show,” he explains to the surprised visitors, peeling the banana and calling his work “the hungry artist.”

After the incident, Datuna said in an interview with the Miami Herald that his action should not be seen as an attack on the work of the Italian: “I love Maurizio Cattelan artwork, and I really love this installation”.

The stuck banana was a real sensation at the Miami art fair in recent days. Visitors crowded to take a picture with the ‘Comedian’, as the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan had called his work. Cattelan had made three versions of the installation, two of which were sold for more than 120,000 dollars. The third version, which reportedly even raised $150,000, has now been eaten by Datuna.

Certificate of authenticity

Although the incident was reported to security, Datuna has not been arrested. According to a gallery spokesperson, the work has not been destroyed, despite the artist’s action. “The banana is just an idea”. Buyers of the artwork are not bothered by it. They didn’t buy the fruit on display in Miami, but the concept behind the artwork and receive a certificate of authenticity.

A new banana has now been stuck to the wall at the fair itself.