Golden egg returns to downtown Vancouver Dali sculpture
Credit to Author: Harrison Mooney| Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2019 18:26:57 +0000
Golden eggs are tough to come by, which is likely why the goose that laid them is so famous.
It may also be why the golden egg that completed Salvador Dali’s Space Venus, the 12-foot green torso currently on display on downtown Vancouver, was stolen.
For months, Space Venus has been eggless as well as legless. But on Monday, the piece was restored to its formerly glory, as a bronze “replacement” egg was installed, allowing art lovers to once again view the piece in its completed state.
The original egg, a central component of the Dali sculpture installed at Hornby and West Hastings in May, was plundered just a month after it arrived, stunning Susanna Strem, the Chali-Rosso Art Gallery owner who brought the $2.8 million sculpture to the city.
“Imagine my reaction,” Strem told Postmedia in June. “I’m in shock that it could happen here in Vancouver.”
“It has been all around the world and nothing like this has happened.”
Following the brazen act of vandalism, Space Venus was slated for an early return to Europe. But instead, its stay in Vancouver has been extended into 2020 after local artist and Dali fan Richard Forbes contacted the gallery with an offer to cast a new egg, free of charge.
“To whom it may concern, If it is not returned or found, I will cast a new one for you,” Forbes said in an e-mail to the gallery in June.
As a thank-you, the Chali-Rosso Art Gallery will host a free exhibition of some of Forbes’ original sculptures, beginning November 15.
The new, locally-made egg has now been installed on Space Venus, where it will remain until the sculpture goes home, at which point it will be replaced with an egg cast from Dali’s original mould.
The original golden egg has yet to be recovered. If retrieved, it could be reattached without causing further damage, Strem said.
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