Please refrain from touching the artwork.
We are occasionally reminded of the reasons why these signs are still required in galleries all over the world.
When a collector accidentally knocked down a $42,000 (£34,870) sculpture by US pop artist Jeff Koons on Thursday night, art lovers in Miami watched in horror.
Witnesses at the event claimed that she had tapped it with her finger.
The statue, one of Koons’ iconic Dog Balloons, broke into tiny pieces, which the gallery staff had to sweep into dustpans.
The mishap occurred on the VIP-only opening night of Art Wynwood, an annual contemporary art fair in Miami, Florida.
According to local artist Stephen Gamson, he was admiring the sculpture when it was knocked off its pedestal by an “older woman.”
He initially questioned whether it was a performance piece (Banksy, anyone?). but realized right away that it had been an accident.
Mr. Gamson stated to the newspaper, “When this thing fell to the ground, it was like a car accident draws a huge crowd on the highway.”
Bénédicte Caluch, an art advisor with Bel-Air Fine Art galleries, which represents the sculpture, stated that the piece is insured, which is a blessing for the woman.
“It was a big deal!” According to Ms. Caluch, the Miami Herald: Everyone came to see what took place.
Jeffrey Koons: The most expensive art mishaps in Diary of a Seducer She added that the unidentified woman who caused the damage was a collector of art.
According to the New York Times, Cédric Boero, who also works for Bel-Air Fine Art galleries, said, “Life just stopped for 15 minutes with everyone around.”
He went on to say that a colleague spoke with the woman, who expressed regret and “just wanted to disappear.”
The sculpture was one of only 799 pieces in a limited edition that has now been reduced to 798.
Laughing, Mr. Boero stated to the Times, “That’s a good thing for the collectors.”
There is still interest in purchasing the destroyed sculpture despite its thousands of fragments.
“It has a really cool story,” Mr. Gamson stated on his Instagram account, “so I’ll buy it right away.”
The 68-year-old artist Jeff Koons has not commented on the incident.
His collection of Balloon Dog sculptures, which have sold for tens of millions of dollars, are among the most well-known pieces of contemporary art.
Although some are enormous, reaching heights of up to 3 meters (10 feet), this unfortunate dog was only 16 inches (40 centimeters) tall.
They have been displayed in galleries all over the world, and Jay-Z made them even more famous in 2017 when he collaborated with Koons to make a 40-foot inflatable Balloon Dog for a stage prop.
One of Koons’ most famous Dog Balloon sculptures, the Rabbit, broke into tiny pieces and had to be swept into dustpans by gallery staff in 2019 to make history.
The mishap occurred on the VIP-only opening night of Art Wynwood, an annual contemporary art fair in Miami, Florida.
According to local artist Stephen Gamson, he was admiring the sculpture when it was knocked off its pedestal by an “older woman.”
He initially questioned whether it was a performance piece (Banksy, anyone?). but realized right away that it had been an accident.
Mr. Gamson stated to the newspaper, “When this thing fell to the ground, it was like a car accident draws a huge crowd on the highway.”
Bénédicte Caluch, an art advisor with Bel-Air Fine Art galleries, which represents the sculpture, stated that the piece is insured, which is a blessing for the woman.
“It was a big deal!” According to Ms. Caluch, the Miami Herald: Everyone came to see what took place.
She went on to say that the unidentified individual who damaged the property was an art collector.
According to the New York Times, Cédric Boero, who also works for Bel-Air Fine Art galleries, said, “Life just stopped for 15 minutes with everyone around.”
He went on to say that a colleague spoke with the woman, who expressed regret and “just wanted to disappear.”
The sculpture was one of only 799 pieces in a limited edition that has now been reduced to 798.
Laughing, Mr. Boero stated to the Times, “That’s a good thing for the collectors.”
