Maurizio Cattelan's banana has vanished again: the artist's iconic work, exhibited at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, disappeared yesterday afternoon.
The exhibition center announced the theft yesterday afternoon, after a security guard discovered it. At the same time, a complaint was filed against unknown persons for the theft of the famous fruit, nicknamed "The Comedian," featuring a banana attached to the wall with tape.
The now-famous artwork is worth millions of dollars. Created in 2019, it was at the center of another peculiar incident last year: an exhibition visitor pulled the banana off the wall and ate it. And who knows if the same thing happened yesterday, when it disappeared.
The work requires very specific care: the fruit is replaced every three days. In fact, the value of the work is determined by the certificate of authenticity and the protocol governing its display.
The banana has since been replaced and continues to be on display in the “Endless Sunday” exhibition, which began in May 2025 and will end on January 25, 2027.
The complaint of the French exhibition center
In a statement, the Centre Pompidou condemns the incident, while Elsa De Smet, communications director, explains why a complaint was filed. Last July, "we identified the person who took responsibility for the act on social media," De Smet stated. "Although the center didn't file a complaint at the time, it decided to do so this time because the perpetrator hasn't been identified, and therefore we can't engage in dialogue. Furthermore, this is the second time this has happened, and it's a matter of respect for the artwork," she concluded.
The protests and the value of the work
There are three copies of Maurizio Cattelan's work, which generated considerable buzz after its first exhibition in Miami in 2019. At that time, another artist ate it to protest its $120.000 price tag. Two years later, in November 2021, a copy of the artwork was purchased for $5,2 million by Justin Sun, the founder of a cryptocurrency platform, who then ate the banana in front of journalists.
It seems strange and a little disturbing to me, the banana disappeared again and then they put it back on the wall every three days but I don't know who is checking, it seems like a game or a performative gesture, those in charge don't explain themselves and the procedure seems confusing and poorly described.