If you never thought you would be able to hang my effigy in your home, that makes two of us.
Maurizio Cattelan
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Awe, rage, debate. Five standout satirical works by contemporary art's great provocateur.Limited edition
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Maurizio Cattelan makes himself the punchline in this hand-painted, sculptural self-portrait.
A new limited edition sculpture, the work is the latest of Maurizio's revered miniatures – perhaps the most famous of which, La Rivoluzione Siamo Noi (2000), nods to German artist Joseph Beuys and his canonical felt suit. Cattelan’s motto, “I am not really an artist,” flips Beuys’ famous claim that “every man is an artist”. The statement encapsulates the tongue-in-cheek sentiment of this sculpture: at once a parody of Cattelan’s own role as creator and a reflection on the place of the artist in society.
Each edition is individually numbered and includes a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.
Maurizio Cattelan4 collaborationsMaurizio Cattelan has been called many names, but do not call him an imposter – “an impostor is someone who wants to be someone else… I am who I’ve always been.” Maurizio, the troublemaker, grew up in an industrial town in northern Italy, faking his parents’ signatures on school report cards. Maurizio, the outsider, received no formal art training but has been hailed ‘the most famous Italian artist since Caravaggio.’ Maurizio, the heretic who dropped a meteorite on the pope (La Nona Ora, 1999), holds no institution sacred – not even the art world. A century after Duchamp’s Fountain (1917), Maurizio inverted the idea of readymade art with America (2016) – a fully-functional solid gold toilet in the restrooms at Guggenheim Museum.
While Comedian (2019) – an ordinary banana duct-taped to a wall – has captured mainstream attention for years, it’s not the first time it seemed like Maurizio was playing a joke on the world. For example, L.O.V.E (2010), an 11m marble hand with four digits missing – leaving only a middle finger outside the Italian Stock Exchange in Milan. Is it a response to the fascist history of the square, or the 2008 financial crisis? Is it a postmodern comment on the emptiness of gestures, or just a really good joke? Any single answer would be unsatisfactory. To Maurizio, “if something can be reduced to one clear concept, it is as sure as hell artistically dead.” Only one thing unifies this sprawling, sardonic oeuvre – the figure of Maurizio the Artist. Or is that just another Mini-Me (1999)?
While Comedian (2019) – an ordinary banana duct-taped to a wall – has captured mainstream attention for years, it’s not the first time it seemed like Maurizio was playing a joke on the world. For example, L.O.V.E (2010), an 11m marble hand with four digits missing – leaving only a middle finger outside the Italian Stock Exchange in Milan. Is it a response to the fascist history of the square, or the 2008 financial crisis? Is it a postmodern comment on the emptiness of gestures, or just a really good joke? Any single answer would be unsatisfactory. To Maurizio, “if something can be reduced to one clear concept, it is as sure as hell artistically dead.” Only one thing unifies this sprawling, sardonic oeuvre – the figure of Maurizio the Artist. Or is that just another Mini-Me (1999)?
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