A man smashed a sculpture by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei during the opening of his exhibition at Palazzo Fava in Bologna, Italy, on Friday. The incident occurred during a private reception for the show, titled “Ai Weiwei. Who Am I?”
According to the exhibition’s spokesperson, the man forcefully pushed over Ai Weiwei’s large blue and white “Porcelain Cube,” shattering it to pieces.
CCTV footage shared by the artist on his Instagram account shows the man breaking the sculpture, then holding up a piece of it above his head before being tackled by museum security. The exhibition’s curator, Arturo Galansino, described the perpetrator as well-known in the art world for targeting various exhibitions and institutions in Florence over the years. “The destruction that Ai Weiwei depicts in his works is a warning against the violence and injustice perpetrated by those in power, and has nothing to do with this violent, potentially dangerous, reckless and senseless act,” Galansino said.
Local police arrested a 57-year-old Czech man in connection with the incident.
Sculpture smashed during opening reception
It remains unclear how he gained access to the invitation-only event.
Despite the disruption, the exhibition opened to the public as planned on Saturday. Following Ai Weiwei’s wishes, the sculpture’s fragments were covered and removed, to be replaced by a life-sized print and a label explaining the incident. Ai Weiwei, known for making creative statements through the destruction of artwork, expressed his shock in an emailed statement on Monday.
“When I learned that it was my large porcelain artwork that had been destroyed, I was astonished. I never imagined that a piece nearly 100 kilos in weight could be damaged so easily,” he said. The exhibition, which explores the artist’s ideas on artificial intelligence and the tension between tradition and innovation, will continue as planned until May 4.
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