Man destroys Ai Weiwei artwork at opening in Italy

A man smashed a work by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei on Friday during the opening of his exhibition at the Palazzo Fava in Bologna, a spokesperson for the retrospective said. CCTV footage – posted on Ai Weiwei’s Instagram account – showed a man vigorously pushing the sculpture to smash it into a thousand pieces.

The targeted work, Porcelain Cube, 2009, is a large blue and white porcelain cube, the spokesman said. “Unfortunately, I know the author of this inconsiderate gesture thanks to a series of disturbing and damaging episodes over the years involving various exhibitions and institutions in Florence”said Arturo Galansino, curator of the exhibition.

According to Italian media, the suspect is Vaclav Pisvejc, a 57-year-old Czech who calls himself a protest artist. He was arrested by the Bologna police. “In addition to the serious damage caused to the work, we regret that this gesture disrupted an evening dedicated to art and culture, which should have taken place in an atmosphere of sharing and harmony.“, the curator further laments Bologna Courier.

The exhibition entitled Who am I, running until May 4, opened as planned this Saturday, September 21, with a life-size reproduction to replace the original work that was vandalized, the spokesperson said. Before adding: “Ai Weiwei was concerned that no one had been injured by the pieces of porcelain and requested that the remains of the work be covered up and taken away.”