Party-goer charged for damage to Eliasson exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery
The event was held there for the second time, after what Auckland Art Gallery described as a 'successful debut in 2024'.
According to the art gallery's website, the event was tipped as an 'unforgettable night of art, dance, music and culinary delights', with performances from contemporary dance groups, a soprano singer and DJ. Canapes and cocktails were served throughout the night.
VIP tickets cost $300 and general admission was $200. Notable New Zealanders at the event included fashion designer Karen Walker and model-actor Colin Mathura-Jeffree.
The highlight of the event was exclusive after-hours access to Eliasson's exhibition, which was a mix of installations, sculptures and photographs. His work had been on display at the gallery since early last December, the first time his work had been exhibited in Aotearoa.
Auckland Art Gallery declined to be interviewed, but, in a statement, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited chief executive Nick Hill said the main event, where attendees could dance and were served refreshments, was held in the gallery's Te Ātea North Atrium.
He said one of the guests damaged one of the artworks.
'One of the patrons at this event damaged a hanging sculpture that was on loan for the exhibition 'Olafur Eliasson: Your Curious Journey'.'
The gallery's conservation team assessed the sculpture and confirmed it was broken.
'It was found that one of the outer sheets of the artwork was cracked and a glass shard was broken off.
'The lender was notified and the artwork is being repaired. There will be no lasting damage.'
The gallery said it needed Eliasson's permission to discuss the specific piece of artwork further.
Some of his works sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Christies in New York recently valued a piece of his work at US$150,000.
The gallery undertook an investigation of the incident and the matter was reported to police.
Police confirmed to Checkpoint that a 29-year-old woman was charged with wilful damage and remanded on bail, due to appear in the Auckland District Court later in April.
- RNZ
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
20 hours ago
- 1News
Woman accused of selling Matthew Perry fatal dose agrees to plead guilty
A woman known as the "Ketamine Queen," charged with selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him, agreed to plead guilty Tuesday. Jasveen Sangha becomes the fifth and final defendant charged in the overdose death of the Friends star to strike a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. Having initially pleaded not guilty, her change of plea means she'll avoid a trial that had been planned for August. Prosecutors had cast Sangha as a prolific drug dealer who was known to her customers as the "Ketamine Queen," using the term often in press releases and court documents and even including it in the official name of the case. Matthew Perry, left, and 'Ketamine Queen' Jasveen Sangha. (Source: Getty / Facebook) A federal indictment charged Sangha with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine and five counts of distribution of ketamine. ADVERTISEMENT She and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who signed his own plea deal June 16, had been the primary targets of the investigation. Three other defendants — Dr. Mark Chavez, Kenneth Iwamasa and Erik Fleming — agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their cooperation, which included statements implicating Sangha and Plasencia. Dr. Salvador Plasencia leaves federal court on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Source: Associated Press) Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home by Iwamasa, his assistant, on October 28, 2023. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor as a legal, but off-label, treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. Perry, 54, sought more ketamine than his doctor would give him. He began getting it from Plasencia about a month before his death, then started getting still more from Sangha about two weeks before his death, prosecutors said. Perry and Iwamasa found Sangha through Perry's friend Fleming. In their plea agreements, both men described the subsequent deals in detail. Fleming messaged Iwamasa saying Sangha's ketamine was 'unmarked but it's amazing,' according to court documents. Fleming texted Iwamasa that she only deals 'with high end and celebs. If it were not great stuff she'd lose her business.' The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Zelensky's suit becomes hot topic at peace summit, a cold blast on the way, and Auckland FC lures new signing back home. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT With the two men acting as middlemen, Perry bought large amounts of ketamine from Sangha, including 25 vials for US$6000 (NZ$10,100) in cash four days before his death. That purchase included the doses that killed Perry, prosecutors said. On the day of Perry's death, Sangha told Fleming they should delete all the messages they had sent each other, according to her indictment. Her home in North Hollywood, California, was raided in March 2024 by Drug Enforcement Administration agents who found large amounts of methamphetamines and ketamine, according to an affidavit from an agent. She was indicted that June, arrested that August and has been held in jail since. None of the defendants has yet been sentenced. Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC's megahit series.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Matthew Perry death: 'Ketamine queen' to plead guilty
The accused drug dealer known as the "ketamine queen" will plead guilty to charges that she supplied the dose of the prescription anaesthetic that killed Friends star Matthew Perry, prosecutors say. Jasveen Sangha, 42, who authorities said ran an illegal narcotics "stash house" in the North Hollywood district of Los Angeles and was due to stand trial in September, will plead guilty to five charges under a deal with federal prosecutors, according to the United States Justice Department. Four other co-defendants in the case - two physicians, Perry's personal assistant and another man who admitted acting as an intermediary in selling ketamine to the actor - have already pleaded guilty to various charges, though none has yet been sentenced. All five were charged in the case one year ago. Prosecutors said Sangha agreed to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of illegal distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Sangha, a dual US-British citizen, is expected to formally enter her plea in the coming weeks, the Justice Department said in a statement. The charge of maintaining a drug den carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Sangha faces up to 15 years in jail for ketamine distribution that killed Perry, and 10 years for each of the three other distribution counts. Medical examiners concluded that Perry died from acute effects of ketamine that combined with other factors to cause the actor to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub on October 28 in 2023. He was 54 years old. FAME AND ADDICTION Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including periods that overlapped with the height of his fame playing the sardonic but charming Chandler Bing on the 1990s hit NBC television comedy Friends . Perry's death came a year after publication of his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing , which chronicled bouts with addiction to prescription painkillers and alcohol that he wrote had come close to ending his life more than once. His autopsy cited interviews with associates who said Perry had been sober for 19 months prior to his death with no known substance abuse relapses. Ketamine, a short-acting anaesthetic with hallucinogenic properties, is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and anxiety but also is abused by recreational users. According to Sangha's plea agreement as outlined by the Justice Department, Sangha had supplied 51 vials of ketamine from her stash house to a go-between dealer, Erik Fleming, 55, who in turn sold the doses to Perry through his live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, 60. It was Iwamasa, prosecutors said, who later injected Perry with at least three shots of ketamine from the vials Sangha supplied, resulting in the actor's death, and who subsequently found him lifeless in the hot tub. In her plea agreement, prosecutors said, Sangha also admitted selling ketamine to an individual in August 2019 who died hours later from a drug overdose. Known to her customers on the street as the "ketamine queen," according to prosecutors, Sangha had used her North Hollywood home to store, package and distribute various narcotics, including ketamine and methamphetamine, dating back to at least June 2019. After learning of news reports of Perry's death, prosecutors said, Sangha tried to scrub her Signal app of all her communications with Fleming and urged him to do likewise, instructing him to "Delete all our messages." Her plea deal came three weeks after a doctor who ran an urgent care clinic, Salvador Plasencia, 43, pleaded guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution and admitted to having injected Perry with the drug at the actor's home and in the back seat of a parked car. Another physician, Mark Chavez, 55, of San Diego, accused of illegally supplying ketamine to Plasencia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute the drug. According to court filings, Plasencia had once texted Chavez about Perry, writing, "I wonder how much this moron will pay."
Techday NZ
2 days ago
- Techday NZ
Trade Me seeks gaming chief to shape E Blacks' global success
Trade Me Jobs and the New Zealand Esports Federation are seeking a Chief Gaming Officer to help determine the future direction of the E Blacks, New Zealand's national esports team. The Chief Gaming Officer role, now open for applications, will involve playtesting competitive gaming titles and providing critical insights to inform which games the E Blacks will compete in internationally. This appointment is described as central to shaping the team's competitive focus and the wider esports landscape in New Zealand. According to data from the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association in 2023, 79% of New Zealanders play video games, with 88% of adults aged 18-44 engaging in gaming activities. The press release also states that the global video games industry now exceeds the size of both the film and music industries combined, reflecting the substantial economic and cultural impact of gaming. Esports achieved official sports recognition in New Zealand in 2020, and the country's competitive gaming scene has grown significantly since then. More than 160 secondary school teams are currently competing in weekly competitions, indicating a strong pipeline of interest and talent at the grassroots level. The Chief Gaming Officer position is described as an opportunity for a gamer to progress from community or casual gaming to a prominent and influential role, responsible for influencing national team selection and strategy. The successful candidate will work closely with the E Blacks, testing and pushing the limits of competitive games under consideration for international play, and delivering feedback that will help determine the team's focus for the upcoming season. "The Chief Gaming Officer is a chance to help shape the path of competitive gaming in Aotearoa. We're looking for someone with the skills and smarts to test the best, push boundaries, and help us decide which games our E Blacks will take to the world," says Jonathan Jansen, CEO of the NZ Esports Federation. Nicole Williams, Head of Trade Me Jobs, offered further perspective on the role's significance within the wider context of career opportunities in gaming. "We created these dream jobs to show that meaningful work can come in all shapes and sizes. For so many Kiwi, gaming is more than a pastime - it's a skillset, a passion, and in this case, a genuine career opportunity. We're excited to help turn that into something real." This initiative is the final stage of Trade Me Jobs' "dream job" campaign, following previous partnerships with AJ Hackett and Highlands Motorsport Park. The campaign has focused on showcasing diverse and unconventional career paths across New Zealand. The official job description calls for candidates who are passionate and highly skilled gamers, able to test and evaluate new competitive titles, and contribute honest and strategic feedback to help determine which games the E Blacks should pursue in international competitions. The position is based in Auckland and is described as an opportunity to influence not only the composition of the national team but also the broader competitive structure of New Zealand's esports scene. In addition to influencing game selection for the E Blacks, the Chief Gaming Officer will report on the playability and spectator appeal of titles under consideration, with the objective of ensuring that the New Zealand team competes with games that are both challenging for players and engaging for audiences. The growth of esports in New Zealand reflects international trends, with major games now drawing player bases larger than the populations of many countries. The organisational partnership between Trade Me Jobs and the New Zealand Esports Federation is aimed at translating the widespread popularity of gaming into a structured, competitive environment that can represent New Zealand on the world stage. The Chief Gaming Officer position is open for applications now, with the selection expected to play a pivotal role in upcoming international seasons. Follow us on: Share on:
