Sculpture worth $42,000 shatters at art fair
Pieces of an iconic sculpture are now in high demand, after the renowned work smashed to pieces.
At a Miami art fair, Jeff Koons’ well-known piece Balloon Dog (Blue), worth $42,000, was being showcased at the fair’s VIP preview night.
Unfortunately, the 16-inch-tall sculpture would never make it to public viewing, after an art collector accidentally bumped into its transparent pedestal, sending the artwork falling to the floor where it shattered beyond repair.
“Before I knew it, they were picking up the Jeff Koons pieces in a dustpan with a broom,” Stephen Gamson, an art collector and artist who was in attendance, told the New York Times.
“It was an event!” Bénédicte Caluch, an art advisor with Bel-Air Fine Art, tells the Miami Herald.
“Everybody came to see what happened. It was like when Banksy’s artwork was shredded.”
Nervous attendees crowded around the shattered artwork, curious if the destruction was part of a larger stunt.
However, as staff members stepped in to help clean the sculpture away, the onlookers quickly realised that was not the case.
“Of course it is heartbreaking to see such an iconic piece destroyed,” Cédric Boero, Bel-Air Fine Art’s district manager, told CNN.
The art collector didn’t intend to break the piece, but “this kind of thing unfortunately happens,” he adds. “That is why the artwork was covered by insurance.”
An insurance expert will evaluate the pieces of the sculpture, which have been placed in a box for safekeeping.
Art collector Stephen Gamson is among many who have offered to buy the now-destroyed artwork, with the gallery continuing to receive offers.
“I find value in it even when it’s broken,” Gamson says to the Miami Herald. “To me, it’s the story. It makes the art even more interesting.”
Image credits: Getty Images