Artwork Damaged at Pérez Art Museum During Art Basel Opening

Gean Moreno and Ernesto Oroza's Drywood after the incident.

The glitz, glamour, and nonstop party atmosphere of Art Basel in Miami Beach is all well and good—until someone damages an artwork, that is.

According to the Miami Herald, that’s exactly what happened at the Pérez Art Museum Miami’s opening party on Thursday evening. At some point during the event, a work by Gean Moreno, part of an installation by Moreno and Ernesto Oroza, featuring 12 concrete spheres nestled on the floor, was accidentally damaged by an unknown party guest.

According to reports, one of the concrete spheres actually broke in half while others were just moved out of place. During the party, invited guests were allowed to roam freely through installations without any kind of restrictive railings or signage. It was a bold move on the part of the museum given the preponderance of giddy people intoxicated by alcohol and sunshine— or the pouring rain, as the case was during Thursday evening’s crowded bash. One might also think that the recent smashing of an Ai Weiwei vase at the PAMM by a local artist would have given the museum pause on the relaxed policy as well.

Moreno was reportedly in attendance at the VIP event, which was cosponsored by Dis Magazine and THV Entertainment and featured a DJ set by Future Brown, and was aware of the damage to the work but remained largely unfazed.

The PAMM recently issued the following response: “The damage to the work of art by Gean Moreno was an accident. The artist was present at the event and PAMM has responded to remove the work for safety. We will continue to collaborate with Gean to have it repaired.”


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