Sculpture stolen from 484 North Gallery

A sculpture was reported stolen from the front of the 484 North Gallery at 1:01 p.m. Sunday.

Owner Bob Kronquist said he noticed the sculpture was gone on Easter. A neighbor mentioned that a side gate was left open the night before. Kronquist said he believes the burglar parked in the alley and went up the side of the building to be discrete between 7 and 11 p.m. Saturday.

The copper kinetic wind sculpture by Mark White was titled “Flame II” and valued at $1,950. It was placed in a sculpture garden in the front of the property among many other sculptures. He said one had been stolen in La Jolla recently.

White’s pieces attract a lot of attention, Kronquist said, and they’ve been selling quite a few.

Kronquist said he is installing a surveillance system and is working to secure the statues properly so they’re more difficult to remove.

Although only one was taken, Kronquist noticed that other sculptures were looser and could have been tampered with. He hopes other galleries can learn from the incident and better safeguard their art.

— Joanna Clay