Conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan has opened his major solo exhibition titled Night at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, presenting a collection of historic works and new commissions that explore collective memory and the history of power. According to Neue Nationalgalerie director Klaus Biesenbach, the exhibition arrives following Cattelan’s receipt of the institution’s prize honoring influential contemporary artists.
Behind the Exhibition Night at Neue Nationalgalerie
Cattelan collaborated with curator Lisa Botti for the exhibition, selecting historic works from the past three decades while choosing to skip over his most widely recognized mainstream pieces. According to the artist, those previous high-profile works belonged to a different conversation. The exhibition features new commissions, including a scaled version of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate titled Purgatory, designed as an ambivalent landmark for visitors engaging with European history. At the entrance, the 2003 work Never features Oskar from Günter Grass’s novel The Tin Drum peering from the roof. Overhead, thousands of stuffed pigeons fill the space, which Cattelan describes as a menacing presence, while Botti notes the installation also references the holy spirit and optimism.
Provocative Sculptures and Historical Resonance
The exhibition includes Him from 2001, a controversial sculpture featuring a diminutive kneeling figure of Adolf Hitler in a prayer-like pose. According to records, the piece previously sold for $17.2m in 2016 and faced intense criticism when displayed in Warsaw near the site of the wartime ghetto. Cattelan states that Hitler represents universal evil within the work rather than specific historical isolation, noting the figure could have equally been Genghis Khan. Facing the sculpture is Dawn from 2007, depicting a female figure with human hair and pinned hands in a crucifixion pose. Cattelan explains that the exhibition’s title reflects a suspended, magical moment between fear and dawn.
From Viral Bananas to Auction Records
Cattelan remains globally recognized for high-profile market interventions, most notably Comedian from 2019, which involved duct-taping a fresh banana to a gallery wall. The piece sold for $6.2m, where the buyer subsequently consumed the fruit. Another major work, an 18-karat gold toilet titled America, was installed at the Guggenheim in 2016 before thieves later stole the loo from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Another famous work is The Ninth Hour, depicting Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maurizio Cattelan’s exhibition Night located?
The exhibition is located at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, hosted on the subterranean level of Mies van der Rohe’s modernist building.
What are some of Maurizio Cattelan’s most famous artworks?
His most notable works include Comedian (the duct-taped banana), America (the 18-karat gold toilet), Him (the kneeling Hitler figure), and The Ninth Hour (depicting Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite).
How much did Cattelan’s banana artwork sell for?
Comedian sold for $6.2m before the buyer ate the fruit.
What themes does the Night exhibition explore?
According to the artist and curators, the exhibition investigates the rise and fall of power, historical memory, and the tension between fear and hope symbolized by Berlin.
Worth a look