Latest news with #TheCuriousBall
Otago Daily Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Name suppression for party-goer who damaged $333k art piece
By Louise Ternouth of RNZ A woman who damaged a piece of artwork worth $333,000 while attending a ball at Auckland Art gallery last month has been granted interim name suppression. Guests at The Curious Ball in early March were served alcohol and given exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition of works by Olafur Eliasson. One of the guests was charged with wilful damage after allegedly headbutting a hanging sculpture during the evening. 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. Canapés and cocktails were served throughout the night. About 200 people attended, with VIP tickets costing $300 dollars 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. The damaged piece of artwork is titled Firefly biosphere (falling magma star) - a large hanging coloured sphere of glass, stainless steel and aluminium with a motor and lights inside that hung from the ceiling at head height. Auckland Art Gallery would not reveal the value of the artwork but in a police summary of facts obtained by Checkpoint it was valued at $333,000. According to summary, the guest had consumed alcohol before and during the event. At 9:45pm she walked into a large open room which had the Firefly Biosphere art piece and approached the artwork. Police say she stopped just before it, stepped back on one foot and then intentionally lurched forward, headbutting the glass sphere and breaking a piece of the glasswork. The woman stated she was slightly intoxicated and meant her actions to be a joke in front of her friends. She acknowledged her actions were reckless but that she had not intended to break the artwork. It has been taken down and fixed at a cost of $3440, which the defendant has been ordered to pay. The cost to repair the sculpture was initially covered by Auckland Art Gallery's insurance with no excess payment. In a written statement to Checkpoint, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Chief Executive Nick Hill said the gallery expressed sincere regret to the artist's studio and owner following the incident. He stressed the gallery does not allow food or drinks in exhibition spaces specifically to help protect artworks. "When alcohol is available at an event, it is served responsibly, away from artworks. "Staff are located in and outside exhibition spaces to monitor artworks and prevent visitors from walking into the exhibition with food or alcohol." The Art Gallery has reviewed the event and incident to see if anything could have been done differently.
RNZ News
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Party-goer who damaged Olafur Eliasson artwork worth $333,000 granted name suppression
Olafur Eliasson, Firefly biosphere (falling magma star), 2023; Installation view: Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, 2024. Photo: Olafur Eliasson A woman who damaged a piece of artwork worth $333,000 while attending a ball at Auckland Art gallery last month has been granted interim name suppression. Guests at The Curious Ball in early March were served alcohol and given exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition of works by Olafur Eliasson. One of the guests was charged with wilful damage after allegedly headbutting a hanging sculpture during the evening. 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. Canapés and cocktails were served throughout the night. About 200 people attended, with VIP tickets costing $300 dollars 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. The damaged piece of artwork is titled Firefly biosphere (falling magma star) - a large hanging coloured sphere of glass, stainless steel and aluminium with a motor and lights inside that hung from the ceiling at head height. Auckland Art Gallery would not reveal the value of the artwork but in a police summary of facts obtained by Checkpoint it was valued at $333,000. According to summary, the guest had consumed alcohol before and during the event. At 9:45pm she walked into a large open room which had the Firefly Biosphere art piece and approached the artwork. Police say she stopped just before it, stepped back on one foot and then intentionally lurched forward headbutting the glass sphere and breaking a piece of the glasswork. The woman stated she was slightly intoxicated and meant her actions to be a joke in front of her friends. She acknowledged her actions were reckless but that she had not intended to break the artwork. It has been taken down and fixed at a cost of $3440 which the defendant has been ordered to pay. Auckland Art Gallery would not reveal the value of the artwork. Photo: IAN TROWER / ROBERT HARDING PREMIUM / ROBERTHARDING / AFP The cost to repair the sculpture was initially covered by Auckland Art Gallery's insurance with no excess payment. In a written statement to Checkpoint Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Chief Executive Nick Hill said the gallery expressed sincere regret to the artist's studio and owner following the incident. He stressed the gallery does not allow food or drinks in exhibition spaces specifically to help protect artworks. "When alcohol is available at an event, it is served responsibly, away from artworks. "Staff are located in and outside exhibition spaces to monitor artworks and prevent visitors from walking into the exhibition with food or alcohol." The Art Gallery has reviewed the event and incident to see if anything could have been done differently.
RNZ News
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Woman damaged 333k artwork at Auckland Art gallery ball
A woman who damaged a piece of artwork worth 335,000 dollars while attending a ball at Auckland Art gallery last month has been granted name suppression. Guests at The Curious Ball last month were served alcohol and given exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition of works by Olafur Eliasson. A guest has been charged with wilful damage after headbutting a hanging sculpture and ordered to pay $3400 to cover its repairs. Reporter Louise Ternouth spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
1News
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- 1News
Partygoer charged over damage to Auckland Art Gallery exhibition
An artwork has been damaged at a glitzy event held at the Auckland Art Gallery, leading to a criminal charge. Guests at The Curious Ball last month were served alcohol and given exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition of works by Olafur Eliasson. His art sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars and the damaged piece is a hanging sculpture. The Curious Ball was held at Auckland Art gallery on March 1 and 208 people attended. 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. Canapés, 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 sold 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 RNZ 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. By Louise Ternouth of
Otago Daily Times
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Woman damages artwork at glitzy Auckland Art Gallery event
By Louise Ternouth of RNZ An artwork has been damaged at a glitzy event held at the Auckland Art Gallery, leading to a criminal charge. Guests at The Curious Ball last month were served alcohol and given exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition of works by Olafur Eliasson. His art sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars and the damaged piece is a hanging sculpture. The Curious Ball was held at Auckland Art gallery on 1 March and 208 people attended. 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. Canapés, and cocktails were served throughout the night. VIP tickets cost $300 dollars 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 RNZ 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.
