MAURIZIO CATTELAN'S "COMEDIAN" AUCTIONED AT SOTHEBY'S FOR $1-1.5 MILLION PLUS NEXT MONTH

Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian, 2019 will be sold at Sotheby’s New York on November 20, 2024. Estimate, $1,000,000 - 1,500,000.

The winning bidder will receive a roll of duct tape, a fresh banana, and the all important certificate of authenticity. The work includes detailed instructions for properly displaying the piece, allowing for both the duct tape and banana to be replaced as needed.)

"Comedian" was first exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019 where 2 editions of the work sold for $120,000 each to Miami art collectors Billy & Beatrice Cox and to Sarah Andelman, founder of the Paris boutique, Colette.

You can create your own DIY permanent (use a plastic banana) conceptual homage for less than $10, or an edition of 6 for less than $30. Makes a great hostesss gift! –TS

$22.15 at Michael’s for 6

$6.48 at Home Depot

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SOLID GOLD ART POTTY (WORTH OVER $1 MILLION) STOLEN!

Yes, British police are on the hunt for an 18-carat gold toilet stolen from Winston Churchill’s birthplace.

Reports of a burglary at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, where the toilet was on display as part of a contemporary art exhibition.

Jess Milne of Thames Valley police said: 

“The piece of art that has been stolen is a high-value toilet made out of gold that was on display at the palace.

“The artwork has not been recovered at this time, but we are conducting a thorough investigation to find it and bring those responsible to justice.”

According to The Guardian,

The burglary has left the palace with significant damage and flooding. The toilet, designed by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, had been plumbed in and was available for visitors to use.

The golden lavatory, named ‘America’, drew large crowds when it was exhibited in New York. It had been installed in a wood-panelled chamber opposite the room where Churchill was born.

Edward Spencer-Churchill, founder of the Blenheim Art Foundation, said last month that the potty wouldn’t be 

“the easiest thing to nick”.

“Firstly, it’s plumbed in and secondly, a potential thief will have no idea who last used the toilet or what they ate. So no, I don’t plan to be guarding it.”

The palace’s chief executive, Dominic Hare said,

“Following the Thames Valley police statement we can confirm ‘America’, the art piece by Maurizio Cattelan, has been stolen in the early hours of this morning.

We knew there was huge interest in the Maurizio Cattelan contemporary art exhibition, with many set to come and enjoy the installations. It’s therefore a great shame an item so precious has been taken, but we still have so many fascinating treasures in the palace and the remaining items of the exhibition to share.”

The gold toilet was shown at the Guggenheim Museum in New York three years ago from September 15, 2016–September 15, 2017. 

Visitors to the palace were given three minutes to test out the golden throne. The Guardian‘s art critic Jonathan Jones has described it as

“much like peeing on porcelain… but here, among all the photos of young Winston, it also feels like pissing on British history”.

Insert Trump/pee joke here.

(Photo, courtesy Maurizio Cattelan; via The Guardian)

YOU CAN PEE (OR WHATEVER) IN MAURIZIO CATTELAN'S SOLID GOLD TOILET

This solid gold toilet is in a public restroom, in a new exhibit called America at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It’s the first work of art exhibited by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan since his retrospective hung all of his work like a mobile from the ceiling.

Cattelan’s retrospective, “All” at the Guggenheim in 2012

The Guggenheim said,

“Cattelan intends visitors to use the toilet just as they would any other facility in the building. 

In a gallery environment where visitors are constantly being told, ‘don’t touch,’ this is an extraordinary opportunity to spend time completely alone with a work of art by a leading contemporary artist.”

It’s located behind a nondescript bathroom door The value of the work was not given, but Gothamist crunched the numbers did the math and found that if it weighs as much as a typical commode, it would be between 70 and 120 pounds ― or worth between $1,474,592 and $2,527,872, given the current value of gold. Cattelan told the museum,

“You should call it ‘Guggen-head’.“

Whatever, just don’t forget to flush.

(T/Y Tad; via Huffington Post)