Cattelan's Golden Toilet Sells for $12.1 Million in a Subdued Auction

2 hours ago7 min read

The auction of Maurizio Cattelan’s 18-karat gold toilet, ‘America,’ concluded not with a roar of controversy but with a whisper of market fatigue. Selling for $12.1 million at Sotheby’s, the fully functional artwork—once a magnet for visitors seeking a luxurious restroom experience at the Guggenheim—fell short of the explosive bidding war often associated with the artist's work. The sale was punctuated by an awkward minute of silence as the auctioneer's calls for higher bids went unanswered, a stark departure from the public queues the piece previously inspired.This tepid response signals a potential shift for Cattelan, the art world’s master provocateur. His career, built on works that blur the line between satire and prank, from a diamond-encrusted skull to a duct-taped banana, reached a peak of democratic critique with ‘America.’ Installed in 2016, the toilet served as a flushable commentary on wealth disparity and art market excess. Its auction performance, however, suggests collectors may be developing a resistance to his shock tactics.The artwork’s history is laden with drama: it was infamously offered on loan to the Trump White House and was later stolen in a brazen heist from Blenheim Palace, remaining missing (the auctioned piece was a replica). Despite this rich narrative of scandal, the bidding room reflected caution.The event prompts a critical question for contemporary art: when does a provocative statement devolve into a mere luxury asset? As a literal readymade, ‘America’ challenges the sanctity of the art object, but its failure to electrify the auction implies that even potent symbols can lose their edge, leaving behind the cold calculus of investment. Ultimately, the golden toilet did not disrupt the system as intended; it was processed by it, leaving the metallic gleam of a joke the market understood but declined to overpay for.

#Maurizio Cattelan

#America

#golden toilet

#art auction

#Sotheby's

#contemporary art

#featured

#$12.1 million

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