MIAMI – Talk about breaking news.
A woman visiting the Art Wynwood fair in Miami accidentally broke a Jeff Koons balloon dog sculpture Thursday night, the Miami Herald reported. The shiny, electric blue sculpture, valued at $42,000, was on display at Bel-Air Fine Art’s booth during the fair’s VIP preview show, according to the newspaper.
The sculpture, which was about 16 inches high and 19 inches long, stood on a transparent base at the fair, where more than 50 galleries worldwide were showing their work, the New York Times reported.
Art Wynwood district director Cédric Boero told CNN via email that the gallery was “one of the official representatives of Jeff Koons’ famous balloon dog sculptures.”
“Obviously it’s heartbreaking to see such an iconic piece destroyed,” Boero told the cable news channel.
According to CNN, 799 editions of the sculpture were made.
A giant inflatable nylon version of the sculpture graced the stage for several Jay-Z concerts in 2017, the Times reported.
Boero said the piece fell after an unnamed art collector accidentally kicked the pedestal during the fair’s opening cocktail hour.
“The collector never intended to break the sculpture, in fact she never touched it with her hands,” Boero wrote in his email. “It was the opening cocktail, a lot of people were at our stand, she unwittingly gave a small kick to the base enough to make the sculpture fall.”
“Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens, so the work of art was insured.”
The shattered sculpture attracted gazers who enjoyed the preview show before the unfortunate accident.
“When this thing fell, it was like a car crash pulling a huge crowd onto the freeway,” Stephen Gamson, a Wynwood-based artist and art collector, told the Herald.
“It was an event!” Bénédicte Caluch, art consultant at Bel-Air Fine Art, told the newspaper. “Everyone came to see what happened. It was like when Banksy’s artwork was shredded.”
This street artist’s painting was shredded after it was sold at auction in 2018. The painting, titled Love is in the Bin, was originally titled Girl With Balloon.
[ Banksy’s shredded painting resold for record $25.4M ]
According to the newspaper, Gamson’s version of the recent breakthrough with a “balloon” was different from Boeros. He said he was just pointing out the artwork to a friend when he saw the woman tap the sculpture and knock it off its pedestal.
“Before I knew it, they were picking up the Jeff Koons pieces with a broom in a dustpan,” Gamson told the Times in an interview on Saturday.
Koons, an American artist, is known for his pop culture references, according to the Herald. A large orange version of his “Balloon Dog” series sold for $58.4 million in 2013, the newspaper reported.
His sculpture “Rabbit” sold for $91.1 million, one of the most expensive works of art sold by a living artist, according to the Herald.
Koons did not respond to requests for comment.
According to the Times, Boero said the hiatus increased the rarity and value of the piece.
“It’s a good thing for collectors,” he told the newspaper.