Woman ‘wanted to disappear’ after knocking over iconic sculpture worth $61k at VIP event

She broke the golden rule of art galleries, smashed a limited edition sculpture, and left in a massive clean-up bill at a renowned artist’s VIP event.

As they say, curiosity killed the cat – or in this instance: the $61,000 balloon dog sculpture.

Art lovers could only look on in horror after a collector knocked the small glass sculpture by renowned US pop artist Jeff Koons off its perch at a VIP gallery event.

The piece was one of Koons’ famous “balloon dog” series that was on show at Art Wynwood in Miami, Florida. Collectors in attendance reportedly thought the incident was a piece of performance art, or a staged stunt like the infamous Banksy shredding incident.

The shattered remains of one of Jeff Koons' balloon dog sculptures. Picture: Twitter

Witnesses say the woman was tapping the shiny blue sculpture before it toppled from its pedestal.

“I saw this woman was there, and she was tapping (the sculpture), and then the thing fell over and shattered into thousands of pieces,” local artist Stephen Gamson told the Miami Herald, according to the BBC.

The blue balloon dog before it shattered. Picture: Supplied

The aftermath. Picture: Twitter

He said he thought the woman touched the artwork to see if it was a real balloon.

“When this thing fell to the ground, it was like how a car accident draws a huge crowd on the highway.”

A bystander took a video of the shattered artwork as gallery staff swept up the shards, a voice can be heard saying they “can’t believe somebody would knock that (sculpture) over”.

OH DAMN! 😱😱😱😱😱
А balloon sculpture of famous artist Jeff Koons in the shape of a dog crashed at the Art Wynwood Fair in Miami. It was valued at $42,000, the Daily Mail.
🔉
It is specified that one of the collectors decided to check whether the work by Koons really lived up… https://t.co/J8QwVtQt2Kpic.twitter.com/yJXi6sWuFq

— TheRealBiffBifford 🇺🇸 (@TBifford) February 19, 2023

Bel-Air Fine Art galleries art advisor Benedicte Caluch told the Miami Herald the woman did not mean to break the piece and that it would be covered by insurance.

Witnesses who spoke to the woman say she was “very, very sorry” and “just wanted to disappear”.

But collectors have found a silver lining in the accident: by making an already-limited edition collection by Koons more valuable by shrinking it from 799 pieces to 798.

It’s not the shattered dog (that one was only a pup), but this huge blue balloon dog is the similar shade of vivid blue as the fateful sculpture. 

And despite being shattered to smithereens, there is reportedly still interest in buying the broken blue dog – just like there was for the infamously shredded Banksy work.

Koons, who was not present at the gallery event, has not made any comment on the incident.

His balloon dog sculptures are among the most iconic works of contemporary art in the world. They come in a range of vivid colours and sizes – from 30cm to over 3m tall – and some selling for tens of millions of dollars.

Koons’ artworks have been put on display around the world.

According to critics, his works challenge notions of what is fine art and take inspiration from everyday objects, including balloon animals, and they have been shown in galleries around the world.

Koons’ work were made even more iconic in 2017 when rapper Jay Z worked directly with the sculptor to create an over-12m tall balloon dog for a stage prop.

Koons’ ‘Rabbit’ was sold at illustrious auction house Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art evening sale for a record sum. Picture: Timothy A Clary / AFP

And in 2019, Koons made history when his silver Rabbit sculpture sold at auction for more than $130m – the highest sale price ever recorded for a piece by a living artist.

Let this be a reminder to follow the ‘don’t touch the artwork’ signs at galleries.

Originally published as Woman ‘wanted to disappear’ after knocking over iconic sculpture worth $61k at VIP event