Art critic Avelina Lésper wanted to demonstrate her feelings about a work of art by Gabriel Rico on display in Mexico, so she approached it and set a can of soda next to it. Somehow Lésper's action allegedly caused the artwork to shatter, according to The Guardian.
“It was like the work heard my comment and felt what I thought of it,” Lésper said in a video statement for Milenio, a Mexican media group that publishes her columns. “The work shattered into pieces and collapsed and fell on the floor.”
Lésper said she was then told the piece was valued at $20,000.
Accident or not, the gallery displaying the work criticised Lésper’s behaviour as unprofessional.
“Lésper coming too close to the work to place a soda can on it and take a picture as criticism without a doubt caused the destruction,” OMR gallery said in a statement on Instagram.
Photo of shattered glass by Orane Thomas on Unsplash
