A man smashed a sculpture by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei during the private opening of his exhibition in the northern Italian city of Bologna, in an act of vandalism that the show’s curator described as a “reckless and senseless act.” The large blue and white “Porcelain Cube” was part of the exhibition “Who am I?” inaugurated at Bologna’s Palazzo Fava on Saturday.
Italian media reported that local police arrested a 57-year-old Czech man who claimed to be an artist. He was known for targeting important works of art in the past. It remains unclear how the man gained access to the invitation-only event on Friday, but the museum confirmed that the exhibition opened to the public as planned on Saturday.
In accordance with Ai Weiwei’s wishes, the fragments of the sculpture were covered with a cloth and removed. They will be replaced by a life-sized print and a label explaining what transpired. Ai shared CCTV footage of the attack on his Instagram account, which showed the man loitering around the work before suddenly moving behind it and pushing it, causing it to smash onto the gallery floor.
The man then held up a broken fragment in a gesture of triumph before the museum’s security subdued him, pulling him to the ground. Ai Weiwei is renowned for making creative statements by destroying artwork. One of his most famous pieces, “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn” (1995), captures him dropping a 2,000-year-old ceremonial urn, allowing it to shatter at his feet.
“The act of vandalism against Ai Weiwei’s work ‘Porcelain Cube’ is even more shocking when we consider that several of the works on display explore the theme of destruction itself,” said the exhibition’s curator Arturo Galansino. “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,” he added.
Galansino described the attacker as “a habitual troublemaker seeking attention by damaging artists, works, monuments and institutions.”
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