A fresh banana duct-taped to a wall, titled Comedian, appeared as a 2019 limited edition of three and eventually sold for $6.2 million in 2024. Maurizio Cattelan, a self-taught Italian visual artist, built a career on hyperrealistic sculptures and satirical installations that frequently challenge traditional perceptions of the art world's institutional standards and notions of originality.
Early Career and Artistic Development
Born in Padua, Italy, in 1960, Cattelan grew up in a household with a mother who worked as a cleaning lady and a father employed as a truck driver. His initial professional endeavors involved designing wooden furniture in Forlì. Between 1982 and 1985, he participated in the Padua-based group Magnetica Attrattive, which focused on video image processing. He maintains no formal art training, citing the act of producing exhibitions as his primary educational foundation.
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Cattelan is widely recognized for his use of irony and subversion. His 1989 photo piece, Lessico Familiare, marked an early venture into self-referential portraiture. During the mid-1990s, he frequently employed taxidermy, as seen in his 1997 work Novecento, featuring a suspended racehorse named Tiramisu. His 1999 sculpture La Nona Ora depicted Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite. Other notable projects include the 1992 Oblomov Foundation, which used grant money for personal travel, and his 1993 Venice Biennale contribution, where he leased his assigned gallery space to an advertising agency.
Curatorial and Editorial Projects
Beyond his individual sculpture work, Cattelan has pursued extensive curatorial and publishing interests. He co-founded The Wrong Gallery in New York City with collaborators Ali Subotnick and Massimiliano Gioni in 2002. His publishing career includes the occasional journal Permanent Food, active from 1996 to 2007, and the satirical arts journal Charley. In 2010, he partnered with photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari to establish Toiletpaper, a bi-annual, picture-based magazine that relies on surrealist, staged imagery.
Fast facts
- Born: 1960, Padua, Italy
- Primary occupations: Photographer, painter, sculptor, conceptual artist
- Notable work: Comedian (2019)
- Notable work: L.O.V.E.
- Retrospective year: 2011, Guggenheim Museum
- Award: Arnold-Bode-Preis (2004)
- Collaborator: Pierpaolo Ferrari
- Languages: Italian, English
Questions readers ask
Did Maurizio Cattelan attend art school?
No, he is self-taught and has stated that he learned his craft through reading art catalogues and producing his own exhibitions.
What is the nature of the publication Toiletpaper?
Founded in 2010 with Pierpaolo Ferrari, it is a bi-annual, picture-based magazine featuring staged, surrealist photographs intended for the publication.
Achievements
- Notable work: L.O.V.E.
- Notable work: Comedian
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