Woman accidentally smashes $42 sculpture during Art Wynwood in Miami

A woman visiting Art Wynwood, a contemporary art fair in downtown Miami on February 16, accidentally smashed an expensive sculpture by world-famous artist Jeff Koons. Writes about it Miami Herald.

Photo: IStock

The gleaming blue sculpture, valued at $42, was on display at the Bel-Air Fine Art booth during the VIP preview of the fair. As soon as the sculpture was broken, very eminent persons immediately gathered.

“When this thing hit the ground, it was like a car accident drawing a huge crowd onto the highway,” said Stephen Gamson, an artist and art collector from Wynwood.

He saw the sculpture shatter and recorded the aftermath on camera. A large crowd gathered around the shards, and many people wondered if the incident was a performance.

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“Not this time,” Gamson said. “Just a good old-fashioned accident.” The work is immediately recognizable, even if you are not a big art lover.”

Koons, an American artist, is known for his pop culture references and depictions of everyday objects. (Remember the giant egg bowl at Art Basel last year? Yes, it's Koons.)

And his price tags are no joke. A huge orange version of his Balloon Dog series sold for $2013 million in 58,4. His Rabbit sculpture, which looks like an air bunny holding a carrot like a knife, is one of the most expensive pieces of art ever sold alive. artist. The price of this sculpture was $91,1 million.

Gamson, a Koons fan, was walking through Art Wynwood with a friend when he spotted a sculpture of a dog sitting on an acrylic stand.

“It was the real star of the show,” Gamson said. And as soon as he pointed to the sculpture to his friend, he immediately saw how an elderly woman knocked on the sculpture, knocking her off the pedestal. The artwork shattered into pieces with a roar, shocking everyone around and attracting a crowd of people.

Gamson doesn't know for sure, but suggests that the woman knocked on the sculpture because she was curious if it was a real balloon.

Luckily for her, there was no “if you break it, you buy it” rule at the booth. Benedict Kaluch, artistic consultant for Bel-Air Fine Art, said the artwork is insured.

According to Kalukh, the woman was an art collector and had no intention of breaking it. Employees of the art fair quickly swept up the fragments of the exhibit, none of those present were injured. Although it is a pity that the sculpture was broken, the gallery took it calmly.

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“It was an event,” Kaluch said. “Everyone came to see what happened.” “What happened was reminiscent of a Banksy piece of art being destroyed.”

As Gamson and Kaluh said, they had never seen artwork break in an exhibition before. Guests rarely smash pieces in galleries and museums, although in 2014 a local artist intentionally smashed a priceless Ai Weiwei vase at the Perez Art Museum in Miami. A shattered Koons sculpture can still be worth a lot of money.

Gamson approached Kaluh and offered to buy the wreckage. Although he tried to sell him some undamaged art, Gamson said he would buy the pieces anyway. Why? He is an art addict.

“I find value in them, even if they are broken,” Gamson explained. - For me this is history. It makes art even more interesting.”

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