Shattered artwork of Gabriel Rico
(Photo : Twitter)

An art critic has accidentally destroyed a contemporary piece of art that costs $20,000 during an art premiere in Mexico City.

Avelina Lesper, the art critic that destroyed the artwork, said that she accidentally shattered the installation at the Zona Maco art fair on Saturday. She said that it happened when she placed an empty soda can near it to express her disdain over the artwork. The artwork is a sheet of glass with a stone, a soccer ball, and other random objects that are suspended inside the glass.

The artwork was a piece created by Mexican artist Gabriel Rico who contrasts objects made by humans like tennis balls and objects that are found in nature such as feathers and rocks. 

Lesper released a statement in a video through the Mexican group that publishes her column and she said: "It was like the work heard my comment and felt what I thought of it. The work shattered into pieces and collapsed and fell on the floor."

It was only then that Lesper found out that the artwork she accidentally broke was worth an estimated $20,000. However, Lesper was criticized for her behavior as being unprofessional and whether the 'accident' was really an accident or not. 

The OMR gallery posted a statement on their Instagram account where they wrote: "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."

They also added that Lepser's behavior only shows her "enormous lack of professionalism and respect."

The OMR said that the artwork of Gabriel Rico was highly sought by art collectors and art institutions according to The Guardian.

Meanwhile, the director of the Soumaya Art Museum in Mexico Alfonso Miranda described the incident as a tragedy. Others took pictures of the destroyed artwork and uploaded it on social media to criticize the sale of the art that consisted of found and used objects.

In an interview, Lesper said that she told the gallery to leave the piece shattered to show its evolution. However, when the gallery rejected her idea, she offered to repair it. The gallery said that it will keep in touch with Gabriel Rico before they take any further steps.

Lesper already offered an apology for the incident at the Zona Maco fair and she said that it was not intentional. On the other hand, Gabriel Rico told a news outlet,  "I am sad because this was very disrespectful for the pieces. This is a regrettable situation." 

Moreover, the gallery also added in their previous statement that, "We do not understand how an alleged professional art critic destroyed a work by one of the most outstanding artists of the moment." 

However, for Pavel Eguez, an Ecuadorian painter, who witnessed the incident defended Lesper and said that she did not touch anything near the artwork. 

It is still not clear if the gallery intends for Lesper to pay for the broken artwork. Instead they said that they will still talk to Gabriel Rico about it and will only decide after the talk as to what is the appropriate action to take moving forward.