Artist Maurizio Cattelan, who in 2019 was widely commented on the banana wall sticker exhibition which sold for $ 120,000, has returned to Art Basel (international art fair) this time with a herd of inanimate pigeons .
Nestled at the edge of the walls at the Perrotin Art Gallery in Miami Beach are 56 birds. One piece is titled "Ghost" and costs $ 350,000. The other group of birds costs $ 210,000.
"Pigeons are 'observing' from above the movements of visitors down, suggesting a different restriction between inside and outside, what is seen and who is seeing. "We live in a society where we are under constant scrutiny," the artist told The Art Newspaper this week.
"And I called them 'Ghosts' probably just because they seem to be watching over us and we never know if they are friends or enemies," he added.
This is not the first time Cattelan has provoked. In 2019, the famous banana, titled ‘Comedian’, was commented on worldwide. "For me, 'Comedian' was not a joke; "It was an honest comment and a reflection of what we appreciate," he said.
"Speed ??and business reign at art fairs, so I saw it this way: if I had to be at a fair, I could sell a banana like others sell their paintings. "I can play within the system, but with my own rules."
In 2016, the artist installed an 18-carat gold toilet in the New York museum. Its creation bore a provocative title - "America".
