40,000 euros more expensive "Balloon Dog": Woman breaks valuable Jeff Koons sculpture

A trade fair visitor probably just wanted to test whether the "Balloon Dog" was a real balloon.

40,000 euros more expensive "Balloon Dog": Woman breaks valuable Jeff Koons sculpture

A trade fair visitor probably just wanted to test whether the "Balloon Dog" was a real balloon. In doing so, she accidentally destroys the work of art by the famous painter and sculptor Jeff Koons, which costs around 40,000 euros. But there are also interested parties for the shards.

A collector accidentally knocked over a glass sculpture by the famous artist Jeff Koons at an art fair in the USA and destroyed the balloon dog ("Balloon Dog"), which was valued at $ 42,000 (around 40,000 euros). He saw the woman knock against the shiny blue sculpture, then the work of art suddenly tipped over and "shattered into a thousand pieces," artist Stephen Gamson told a US television station.

Gamson said it felt like the woman was tapping to see if it was a real balloon. Other visitors reportedly initially thought the sculpture destruction at Miami's Art Wynwood art fair was a performance. A video on Gamson's Instagram account shows employees sweeping up the broken glass. The artist tried to acquire the broken sculpture because it had a "cool story," he writes in his post.

An expert told the Miami Herald newspaper that the visitor did not intentionally destroy the sculpture and that the damage was covered by insurance.

The painter and sculptor Jeff Koons draws inspiration for his work from everyday objects such as balloon animals. His balloon dog is available in various sizes, from around 30 centimeters to ten meters in height.