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Expensive Jeff Koons Balloon Dog Sculpture Accidentally Broken By Visitor
EXPENSIVE JEFF KOONS BALLOON DOG SCULPTURE ACCIDENTALLY BROKEN BY VISITOR
If you've ever gotten too close to any of the museum's works of art, you've probably heard the staff tell you to back off. Most of these accidents don't damage the pieces on display, but accidents do happen from time to time. The Miami Art Fair was shocked when an art collector accidentally toppled over Jeff Koons' inflatable dog statue and it crashed to the ground.
The miniature sculpture was part of a series of 799 by the American artist and displayed on a glass table at the Art Wynwood Contemporary Art Exposition, a VIP-only event by Bel-Air Fine Art. These pieces may be of different sizes, but the one that broke was 17 inches tall. Since the sculptures did not have a protective coating, they easily fell to the floor when an unnamed guest withdrew to the table.
“When this thing hit the ground, it was like a car accident with a huge crowd on the highway. He shared videos of the incident showing event staff quickly sweeping up shards of broken glass while other guests watched in confusion. Luckily, Balloon Dog (Blue) is insured, so the woman isn't liable for the estimated value of $42,000. Cédric Boero of Bel-Air Fine Art explained, “Life stopped for 15 minutes when everything was around you.”
“Of course it is heartbreaking to see such an iconic piece destroyed,” he continued. “[But] the collectors had no intention of breaking the sculptures, nor did they actually touch them with their hands. It was a [party] to celebrate the opening, and many people [came] to our booth. She inadvertently kicked her pedestal, which was enough for her sculpture to fall. Unfortunately this happens. So the work of art is insured. Some of the sculptures were packed into storage boxes by fair workers while waiting for the arrival of insurance experts.
This isn't the first time one of Koons' inflatable sculptures has been accidentally smashed. Finally, in 2016, also from Miami, Koons replied, "We're very lucky because when these little accidents happen, we can only replace what breaks." And although the balloon (blue) sculpture is now disassembled, it may be given a second life as there are people who are interested in the already broken state. “I was going to buy a broken sculpture. He has a really great story," said Gamson.
Some have suggested assembling a broken balloon dog (blue) using kintsugi, a Japanese art of repairing pottery using a special varnish made from tree sap dusted with gold, silver or platinum powder. This can lead to very interesting reincarnations of iconic sculptures.