Art fair visitor accidentally shatters an iconic Jeff Koons 'balloon dog' sculpture

A balloon sculpture valued at more than $40,000 and made by famous artist Jeff Koons was reduced to scraps when an art fair attendee accidentally knocked it over. 

Koons’ 2021 piece entitled "Balloon Dog (Blue)" was on display at Art Wynwood, a contemporary art fair in Miami, when it was broken last Thursday. Koons' animal figures are some of the most well-known, expensive sculptures in the contemporary art world. 

Bel-Air Fine Art – a group of 25 galleries that serve as "one of the official representatives for the famous Jeff Koons balloon dogs sculptures” – was displaying the piece at its fair booth, the gallery's district manager, Cédric Boero, shared in an email with USA TODAY on Monday. 

"Of course it is heartbreaking to see such an iconic piece destroyed," said Boero, who was managing the Art Wynwood booth.

An unnamed art collector visiting the booth unintentionally kicked the pedestal during the fair's opening evening cocktail hour, which was enough to cause the sculpture made of porcelain to fall down and shatter. A total of 799 editions of the 40 x 48 x 16 cm sculpture were made.

An edition of the "Balloon Dog (Blue)" was listed on art marketplace website Artsy for $48,000, as of Monday morning.

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“The collector never intended to break the sculpture, in fact she never touched it with her hands," Boero added. "This kind of thing unfortunately happens, that is why the artwork was covered by insurance."

An insurance expert will evaluate the broken pieces, which have already raked in offers from collectors looking to purchase them, Boero said. 

Koons and Art Wynwood did not immediately reply to USA TODAY's request for comment.

Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY's NOW team. 

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