After a golden egg was stolen from a $2.8 million Salvador Dali sculpture on loan to a Vancouver art gallery, a local artist has donated a replacement.
The egg was discovered stolen on June 23 from the 12-foot bronze Space Venus sculpture that was installed mid-May at Hornby and West Hastings.
The Chali-Rosso Art Gallery had welcomed the sculpture as one of the cornerstones of its annual Definitely Dali exhibition.
Gallery director Oree Gianacopoulos said owner Susanna Strem discovered the theft this spring while on her Sunday morning walk to work.
“That was just a horrible day,” said Gianacopoulos. “The last thing in the world that we expected was that that egg would be gone.”
Stripped of one of its integral elements, the sculpture was expected to return to its owner in Europe ahead of schedule. But its time in the city has been extended because local artist Richard Forbes decided to get cracking.
Forbes wrote to the gallery on June 25, offering to cast a new bronze egg if the original was not returned or found. This past weekend he surprised Gianacopoulos, sending a text that he had installed the replacement with eggs-act dimensions free of charge.
Gianacopoulos said Forbes’ egg will remain in Vancouver after the sculpture returns to Europe, where another replacement will be cast from Dali’s original mould.
To show their appreciation to Forbes, she said the gallery will be hosting a free exhibition of his work starting on Nov. 15.
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The Vancouver Police told Black Press Media they have concluded their investigation into the theft of the egg “unless further information is brought forward.”
“Detectives conducted an investigation and were unable to locate any suspects in the theft,” said Sgt. Aaron Roed in an email.
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