Fair Attendee Accidentally Knocks, Shatters $42,000 Jeff Koons 'Balloon' Sculpture

The center-piece of Mexico City's week of art fairs, Zona Maco has brought in 216 exhibitors according to organizers — AFP

KEY POINTS

Bel-Air Fine Art was displaying the blue balloon dog sculpture at Art Wynwood when the incident occurred
The gallery shared pictures of the shattered sculpture after the accident
The sculpture was made of porcelain and measured 40 x 48 x 16 centimeters

Jeff Koons' $42,000 blue balloon dog sculpture broke into tiny pieces after an art fair attendee accidentally kicked its podium Thursday.

The sculpture was being displayed by Bel-Air Fine Art at its booth at Art Wynwood, a contemporary art fair in Miami, when the incident occurred.

The gallery's district manager, Cédric Boero, who was managing the booth, shared a statement with CNN over email, saying that the gallery serves as "one of the official representatives for the famous Jeff Koons balloon dogs sculptures."

"Of course it is heartbreaking to see such an iconic piece destroyed," said Boero.

The famous "balloon dog" sculptures might look like they're made from balloons -- but the works are actually fragile, as one art fair attendee found out when she knocked over a $42,000 Jeff Koons piece https://t.co/uf4RWwe7Gs
— CNN (@CNN) February 19, 2023

He said that the piece fell after an unnamed art collector visiting the booth unintentionally knocked down the pedestal during the fair's opening cocktail hour Thursday evening.

"The collector never intended to break the sculpture, in fact she never touched it with her hands," he said. "It was the opening cocktail, lots of people were on our booth, she gave unintentionally a little kick in the pedestal, which was enough to cause the sculpture to fall down."

"This kind of thing unfortunately happens, that is why the artwork was covered by insurance," he added.

The gallery shared pictures showing the sculpture lying on the floor in pieces following the accident.

The pieces are currently in a box waiting to be evaluated by an insurance expert, according to the gallery. Bel-Air Fine Art also said that some collectors have offered to purchase the broken pieces.

Visitor breaks iconic Jeff Koons balloon dog sculpture in Miami https://t.co/9HzM2KGami
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 19, 2023

Koons' 2021 piece was titled "Balloon Dog (Blue)" and was valued at around $42,000, according to an email from Bel-Air Fine Art. The sculpture was made of porcelain and measured 40 x 48 x 16 centimeters.

A total of 799 editions of the sculpture were made. Some of them measured over 10 feet tall, and some just over a foot tall, like the sculpture that was broken.

Koons' is known for creating iconic and expensive balloon animal figures. His "Rabbit" (1986) sold for $91 million at Christie's New York in 2019, while "Balloon Dog (Orange)" (1994-2000) sold for $58.4 million six years earlier.