Feb. 19 (UPI) — A $42,000 sculpture by the artist Jeff Koons was accidentally knocked over and shattered at an art show in Miami on Thursday.
Video footage shared on social media showed the sculpture, a porcelain rendition of a blue balloon dog, in pieces on the ground of an exhibit at Art Wynwood — an art fair in downtown Miami.
“I was at the VIP art opening of Art Wynwood as I was purchasing some art. I pointed to a Jeff Koons balloon dog sculpture as this woman knocked it over,” Stephen Gamson, an art collector and artist, said in a post on Instagram.
“I actually witnessed the whole thing. One of the most crazy things I’ve seen. Anyway, I’ve tried to purchase the broken sculpture. It has a really cool story.”
Luckily, the work was covered by insurance, according to Art News, even as some have speculated online that the accident may have been intentional.
“Unreal! You think it could have been staged?” one Instagram user commented on Gamson’s post.
Miami’s art fairs have been known for their headline-making stunts, including ATMs that display people’s bank account balances and bananas duct-taped to walls.