![]() The self-destructing “Girl with Balloon” is believed to be a comment on capitalism and the art market. He also points out the mixed message of the shredding. Sebastian Smee at The Washington Post reports that there is some talk that the shredding incident will actually increase the value of the artwork. It’s not known what the anonymous buyer of the shredded artwork thinks about the piece or whether Sotheby’s will discount or cancel the sale. And it was the last piece in the auction, meaning the shredding would not disrupt the rest of the sale. The piece was hung on the wall instead of being placed on a podium like other paintings up for sale. ![]() The most suspicious element is the placement of the painting and timing of the sale. The painting-just a piece of canvas on a wooden backing-would have also been much wider and heavier than normal, raising suspicion, especially during any condition report, or routine examination of a high-dollar artwork. “And Sotheby’s let a man with a bag into the building. “If it had been offered earlier in the sale, it would have caused disruption and sellers would have complained about that,” says Morgan Long, head of the art investment company the Fine Art Group who witnessed the shredding from the front row. Doubters point out that Sotheby’s does not allow people to carry bags into their auctions. He was later said to have been removed by security. First, a man operating an electronic device inside a bag was spotted in the auction house, presumably someone turning on the remote control shredder, as seen in a post from the chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland, Caroline Lang’s private Instagram account, Reyburn reports. However, Reyburn reports that there is some evidence the auction house was in on the gag, despite their denials. “I’ll be quite honest, we have not experienced this situation in the past, where a painting is spontaneously shredded upon achieving a record for the artist.” “We’ve been Banksy-ed,” Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s head of European Contemporary art said in a press conference after the incident. The staff of Sotheby’s denies any prior knowledge of the shredding. The painting’s sale coincides with Frieze Week, one of London’s most significant art fairs. "The urge to destroy is also a creative urge" - PicassoĪ post shared by Banksy on at 10:09am PDT
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