Art critic Avelina Lésper apologizes for shattering $20K art piece at art fair

After the incident where a Gabriel Rico piece shattered at the Zona Maco art fair in Mexico City , art critic Avelina Lésper told her side of the story and apologized but claims she didn’t even touch the glass installation ; Lésper is known for her harsh critiques on contemporary art and her book, which labels contemporary art as a fraud .

Lésper

argues that it could have happened to anyone, including museums or the art collector . Moreover, the controversial art critic compared the incident to Marcel Duchamp ’s The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even ( The Large Glass ); a large glass piece that broke while it was transported.

In the video, Lésper explains that she “had an empty soda can on my hand, first I placed it on the floor to show that the object was still there, identical, that they could be two balls as well as two cans. I raised the can and gesturing (that I would) place it on top of the rock, I moved (the can) closer to the rock, at that moment, as if the piece had heard my comment and had felt what I thought about it, it shattered and collapsed. There’s nothing I could do, I was paralyzed.”

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added that the gallery staff made a scandal and said she tried to flee the scene, something she denies. Then she talked to the gallery owner , discussed the events, and told him she could not pay for the piece.

She added that she didn’t break the piece, didn’t touch it and that she “doesn’t destroy objects . I have a column (in a newspaper) and my critique to say what I think about the pieces.”

Gabriel Rico

has yet to address the incident .

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On February 10, muralist Pavel Égüez shared pictures of the art critic near the Gabriel Rico piece minutes before it shattered .

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