A work by Maurizio Cattalan set a world record for an Italian artwork sale at Southeby's at their Wednesday night auction in New York City. Cattelan is Italy's most famous contemporary artist, and his brilliant piece, All, was recently featured in the exhibit ITALICS that covered forty years of Italian art at the MCA.
The work that sold at Southeby's is one of three versions of a sculpture representing Cattalan emerging from out of the floor. This piece requires an actual hole in a pavement from which the sculpture emerges. Southeby's filmed the preparation of the installation, titled «How To Install a Contemporary Work of Art: Maurizio Cattelan’s Untitled, 2001». The work was estimated to sell for 3-4 million dollars, but a competition among eight bidders began. The final price of Cattalan's work - $7,992,500.
The preceding record for Cattelan's art was his sculpture "La Nona Ora" (1999) which presents Pope John Paul II lying on the ground, having been hit by a meteorite. It sold in November at auction (Phillips de Pury) for $2,700,000.