Jeff Koons’ balloon dog crashed in Miami after a woman dropped it

But where horrified guests saw the loss of a $42,000 work of art, Stephen Jameson, an artist and collector who witnessed the statue’s fall, saw a priceless piece of art history. He now hopes to add every bit of the smashing “Balloon Dog (Blue)”—a 2021 work that’s just over a foot tall—to a personal collection of ephemera that includes Roy Lichtenstein’s ruler, Kenny Scharf’s refrigerator door, and “multi-paint” brushes from Famous artists,” Jameson told The Washington Post.

“For me, it’s like a kid collecting baseball cards,” said Jameson. “I really care about it, and when you’re passionate about it, even broken or damaged pieces are valuable to you.”

And Jameson isn’t the only one interested in getting the broken pieces, according to Bel-Air Fine Art, the contemporary art gallery that displays the statue. In a statement to The Post on Tuesday, Cedric Boirot, the gallery’s area manager, said, “Some collectors have offered to buy the pieces and we’re still taking offers so we can speak.”

Jameson said he knew he had his eyes on something special as soon as he saw the work on top of a transparent base. Jameson said he told a friend, “Look, there’s a Jeff Koons balloon dog.” “And as I said it, a woman approached the stage, and watched everything shatter.”

He said the reaction was a mixture of confusion and surprise. Dozens of people circled in utter shock around the metal remains. Others whipped out their phones, Jameson said, to record the “just unheard of” incident. Chorus “Oh my God!” boomed in the air.

“I can’t believe someone would knock that down,” said a man in a clip of the aftermath shared by Jameson.

“Now look, that’s the new art installation right there…because everything is art, right?” cynical woman

Another man added, “This is the most popular booth in the entire fair.”

As workers cleaned pieces of porcelain and turned them into waste vats, Jameson said, some wondered if they were in the midst of a Banksy-inspired prank or some kind of banana tied to duct tape.

Banksy tried to destroy his art after it sold for $1.4 million. The ripped version just went for $25.4 million.

The explanation was much simpler: Boiro, who was manning the gallery’s booth Thursday, said the statue flew after a woman gave her base “a little kick inadvertently.” He added that the loss would be covered by insurance.

“This kind of thing happens, and a lot of times it’s because people aren’t careful enough and because they can be incredibly naive about art,” said Stephen Keeler, a security consultant for museums and cultural sites in Florida.

Although complete destruction of works of art is uncommon, Keeler said cases that produce less damage are unheard of. In his 40 years working with more than 950 institutions, Keller said he’s seen people flip historical sculptures onto their plinths to take better selfies or brush their fingers up and down priceless masterpieces. But even then, museums tend to have systems in place to protect pieces, while galleries and art galleries usually don’t.

“You could put these pieces inside the glass, that would be a solution,” Keller said. “But when something is for sale, they take a chance on it because they don’t want to diminish the amazing appearance of someone who might be there to buy it.”

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Art Winwood declined to comment on the incident. In a press release, she said the event featured pieces from 50 international galleries, including Bel-Air Fine Art, which still has listings for Variety of Balloon Cones creations, Including monkey, dog and swan.

But even if he didn’t get a (full) balloon dog, Gamson still enjoyed the added layers of meaning the fall brought to the statue. He said he would probably bring some inspiration to his own pop art style pieces.

“Maybe the fact that we still appreciate [the sculpture] “It means that something good comes out of every bad situation,” Jameson said. “Or maybe the insane interest that this whole thing is getting means that people are going to pay more attention to the arts in our country, which can really enhance someone’s life, you know?”

Jeff Koons’ rabbit statue sold for $91.1 million – another sign that the art world is out of touch with reality

Koons, who in 2019 set a record for the most expensive work ever sold at auction by a living artist, first conceived of balloons as art for his 1994 “Celebration” series. The blowing animals, displayed in shades of purple, blue, red, orange and yellow, are “Forever optimisticrepresentative of humanity, But it got damaged before — and it also found new life, Koons said in 2014.

yet another The balloon dog has been smashed In 2008, it became a feature of the Salvage Art Institute’s traveling museum, which contains an inventory of damaged artwork. When The Post in 2013 asked the artist if broken art was still perfect, Koons said, “You can find a hierarchy of importance for different things, but not of value. Everything is perfect for what it is.”

Now the world has a balloon-less dog. Boero said the recently wrecked car, which was part of a series of 799s, is sitting inside a trunk, waiting for an insurance company review to pass it on to its next owner.