Artist Maurizio Cattelan Defends Serious Intent Behind Provocative Installations

‘My work has always been serious’: Maurizio Cattelan on his $6m banana, his gold toilet – and bringing Hitler and a pope to Berlin

He is famed for creating a golden loo that was stolen and a $6m banana that was eaten. But, says the sculptor ahead of a major new show in Germany, there’s more to his work than pranks and provocation Maurizio Cattelan, the art world’s merriest prankster, pauses when asked which object in his sprawling new Berlin show is most likely to be defaced, stolen or eaten, then emits a foghorn of a laugh. “There is no need to vandalise anything,” says the trim, soulful Italian, explaining that he has ...

By Deborah Cole in Berlin