The famous gold toilet created by Maurizio Cattelan in 2016 is back in the news thanks to its first official appearance at a public auction. The work, entitled Americawas sold by Sotheby’s for over 12 million dollars, a figure still considered “disappointing” compared to initial expectations, which aimed to surpass the record of 17 million achieved by the work Him. It was sold by collector Steve Cohen, already known for important acquisitions in the world of contemporary art.
Weighing more than 100 kilos of solid gold, America represents one of the most successful provocations of the Paduan artist: an everyday object transformed into a symbol of material ostentation, capable of superimposing absolute luxury and functional banality.
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A satire against consumerism
The work dialogues with the history of the ready-made, taking up in a contemporary key the tradition inaugurated by Duchamp with Fountain. Cattelan takes the concept to extremes: he doesn’t just display a urinal, but creates a functioning one, built entirely in 18-karat gold. This choice also recalls, by contrast, the formal research of artists such as Brancusi and Jeff Koons, who in turn transformed common objects into sculptural icons through precious materials and impeccable surfaces.
The result is a work that combines political satire, criticism of power and reflection on the value of art. With “America”, the artist wanted to denounce the contradiction between luxury and everyday life, mocking consumerism and the obsession with material value.
The installation at the Guggenheim in 2016 amplified its fame: more than 100,000 visitors queued to use it, experiencing an unprecedented and direct relationship with a museum work. The story of America it is also marked by the sensational theft of 2019 at Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill’s birthplace, where the work was installed in a bathroom open to the public. Five people managed to remove the toilet by ripping it from the pipes, causing extensive damage to the structure. Despite the arrests and convictions, the piece was never recovered.
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