WILTON MANORS, Fla. – A vandal recently hit the “Thunderbunny,” a 14-foot-tall sculpture by a world-renowned artist while it was on public display in Broward County.
It took Hunt Slonem, whose work is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, years to make it out of fiberglass and over 6,500 pieces of glass.
It took Derek Modrok seconds to damage it, police said.
Slonem had loaned it to the Wilton Manors Sculpture Walk by way of The New River Fine Art in Fort Lauderdale. It was installed on May 11 at Justin Flippen Park.
Slonem released a statement before the loan saying the sculpture was born from an early mosaic piece that he had created for a West Palm Beach building. It was on display at the Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary art fair.
Surveillance video shows Modrok used his car to ram into it over the weekend at the corner of Wilton Drive and Northeast 21 Court, police said.
Commissioner Don D’Arminio said Modrok had also stolen a plaque from the park last week that was in the same park in honor of a mayor who had served the city and “Ice Pops,” a sculpture by Craig Berube-Gray, on May 18 at Rachel Richardson Park.
Modrok is facing three counts of felony criminal mischief.