A visitor to an art gallery destroys a precious sculpture. Accidentally
.. And after smashing it. Archival
The blue statue before it is smashed. Archival
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A university that was visiting a contemporary art gallery in Miami mistakenly signed a small glass sculpture by renowned artist Jeff Koons, valued at $42,<>. The brilliant blue statue was part of the Balloon Dog series, which was the reason for Jeff Koons' global fame. The incident occurred during a special pre-show at Art Winwood in Miami. Some collectors thought it was an art show or an agreed scene. Artist Stephen Gamson told Fox News in Miami: "I saw this woman while she was feeling the statue that fell after her, and it was shattered into thousands of pieces." He added that he believed the woman was fumbling the artwork to see if it was a real balloon. A bystander filmed a video of the incident as gallery staff removed shards of glass. A voice is heard saying in the video: "I can't believe anyone can feel it." Benedict Kaloch, technical consultant at Bel-Air Fine Art and patron of Jeff Koons' work, told the Miami Herald that the collector's abyss did not mean to break the artwork and that insurance would cover the damage.