As they say, curiosity killed the cat – or in this instance: the $61,000 balloon dog sculpture.
Art lovers could only look on in horror after a collector knocked the small glass sculpture by renowned US pop artist Jeff Koons off its perch at a VIP gallery event.
The piece was one of Koons’ famous “balloon dog” series that was on show at Art Wynwood in Miami. Collectors in attendance reportedly thought the incident was a staged stunt of Banksy-like performance art.
Witnesses say the woman was tapping the shiny blue sculpture before it toppled from its pedestal.
“I saw this woman was there, and she was tapping (the sculpture), and then the thing fell over and shattered into thousands of pieces,” local artist Stephen Gamson told the Miami Herald, according to the BBC.
He said he thought the woman touched the artwork to see if it was a real balloon.
“When this thing fell to the ground, it was like how a car accident draws a huge crowd on the highway.”
A bystander took a video of the shattered artwork as gallery staff swept up the shards, a voice can be heard saying they “can’t believe somebody would knock that (sculpture) over”.
Bel-Air Fine Art galleries art advisor Benedicte Caluch told the publication the woman did not mean to break the piece and that it would be covered by insurance.
Witnesses who spoke to the woman say she was “very, very sorry” and “just wanted to disappear”.
Collectors have found a silver lining in the accident, which has shrunk an already-limited edition collection by Koons from 799 pieces to 798.
And despite being shattered to smithereens, there is reportedly still interest in buying the broken blue dog – just like there was for the infamously shredded Banksy work.
Koons, who was not present at the event, has not made any comment on the incident.
His balloon dog sculptures are among the most iconic works of contemporary art, coming in a range of vivid colours and sizes – from 30cm to over 3m tall – and some selling for tens of millions of dollars.
According to critics, his works challenge notions of what is fine art, taking inspiration from everyday objects, including balloon animals and have been shown galleries around the world.
Koons’ work were made even more iconic in 2017 when rapper Jay Z worked directly with the sculptor to create a 40-foot Koons.
They have graced galleries around the world, and were further iconised by Jay-Z in 2017 when the rapper worked directly with Koons to create an over 12m inflatable balloon dog or a stage prop.
And in 2019, Koons made history when his silver Rabbit sculpture sold at auction for more than $130m – the highest sale price ever for a living artist.
Let this be a reminder to follow the ‘don’t touch the artwork’ signs at galleries.
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