For years, avocado toast has been maligned as a symbol of millennial excess. But now, the popular (if at times overpriced) snack has been immortalized in a new form: As Artnet News reports, artist Tim Bengel has created a solid-gold cast of the dish. The piece, which weighs over 26 pounds, is set to be sold for $2.9 million.
Interestingly, the sculpture itself takes the form not of a clear-cut café dish, but of a bagel sandwich complete with tomato and onion slices as well as arugula. (Why the bagel used to cast the sculpture was reportedly pumpkin flavored remains unclear.) The piece, which, as Artnet News notes, recalls both King Midas’s touch and the work of Maurizio Cattelan, is titled Who Wants to Live Forever?
Perhaps its eventual buyer will have the answer to that question, but for those looking simply to view the piece, two opportunities stand out. The first is Berlin Art Week, where the sculpture is currently making its debut in a $47,000 case. The second will come in Miami in December, when the entire art world descends on the Floridian city for Art Basel.
Bengel’s gallerist, Christian Rother, noted in a statement that he thinks the avocado toast piece has the potential to become “an icon of our time.” As for Bengel himself, who said in a release that he wanted to “freeze the zeitgeist” with this creation, this isn’t his first experience capturing a broader swath of attention. In 2017, the German artist exhibited his viral sand artworks at a Chelsea gallery. In other words, like it or not, we should be seeing more Instagrammable art from Bengel for years to come.
