Sotheby's is set to auction Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous and influential artwork, America (2016). This piece is a fully functional toilet crafted from over 100 kilograms of solid 18-karat gold. In a unique auction feature, the starting bid for America will be tied directly to the price of its gold weight, meaning the bid will rise or fall with the market until the sale is final. Cattelan created America as a piece of biting commentary on how artistic value and commodity value collide. The artwork directly challenges a central question in the art world: How do we value art? By making a piece of art with an undeniable, objective worth (the price of its gold), Cattelan subverts the typical criticism that art's value is purely subjective and intangible. This provocative approach allows the artist to infiltrate and question the very market system and institutions that define the art world.
