At an art fair in Miami, a woman broke a $42,000 dog balloon sculpture after believing it was a fake.
The incident occurred on Thursday at the Art Wynwood’s VIP Preview event when the woman observed the porcelain statue and poked the blue dog balloon statue by American artist Jeff Koons. According to Stephen Gamson, the crowd gathered over the broken pieces and compared the situation to a “car accident.” Some attendees initially thought the broken statue was a publicity stunt, as some art fairs attract all kinds of gimmicks.
This woman was an art collector who didn’t intend to break the sculpture and gallery staff cleaned it up. Also, since the sculpture is insured, she didn’t have to pay for the damages.
As well as his realistic depictions of everyday objects and pop culture references, Jeff Koons’ artwork is known to be one of the most expensive pieces in the art world. In 2013, Koon’s giant, orange version of the “Balloon Dog” sold for $54.8 million and his “Rabbit” sculpture for $91.1 million. Last year, he created a huge bowl of eggs statue at Wynwood, which became a rage.
The sculpture was the main attraction at the booth, according to Gamson, and Bel-Air Fine Art advisor said he has never seen an art piece break in pieces before. Despite the sculpture being smashed in pieces, Gamson offered to buy it. This is not the first time a sculpture has been smashed.
A previous balloon dog was smashed to pieces in 2016, but Koons wasn’t bothered.
In spite of the fact that it’s sad when things like that happen, we’re really fortunate when it’s just objects that get broken, when there’s little accidents like that, because those can be replaced.”
The recent incident was not discussed by Koons.
