A sculpture by Jeff Koons worth around 40,000 euros was shattered during an art fair in Miami, United States. A woman was seen tapping her fingers on the artwork, part of the popular series Balloon dogs depicting balloons in the shape of a dog. The bright blue sculpture fell from its pedestal and broke into a thousand pieces.
The accident
It happened on Thursday February 16 during Art Wynwood, a contemporary art fair in downtown Miami. The sculpture was displayed in the area reserved for Bel-Air Fine Art, one of the leading groups of contemporary art galleries in Europe, during a private preview of the art fair. Bénédicte Caluch, artistic consultant of Bel-Air Fine Art, told the American newspaper Miami Herald that the collector had no intention of breaking the work and that the insurance will cover the damages.
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Some of those present thought it was an artistic performance or a staging. After all, this is the city where a few years ago an artist ate a work by Cattelan. “I saw this woman standing there and tapping on the sculpture, and it fell and broke into a thousand pieces,” artist and collector Stephen Gamson, who was present at the time of the incident, explained to the Miami-based Fox News channel. Gamson, he said, thought the woman was touching the artwork, which sits on an acrylic plinth embossed with Jeff Koons’ name, to test whether it was actually an inflatable. Many of those present immortalized the scene while the workers swept away what remained of the work.
Who is Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons is an American painter and sculptor of neo-pop art who takes inspiration from everyday objects and kitsch. His works challenge the notion of beauty in art, even though some have sold for more than $91 million (€85 million) at auction. His sculptures representing animal-shaped balloons, produced both in small sizes and over three meters in size, have become the artist’s trademark.
Source-tg24.sky.it