Man Smashes Ai Weiwei Sculpture at Art Show in Italy

A sculpture by renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei was deliberately destroyed during the opening of his exhibition at Palazzo Fava in Bologna, Italy, on Friday. CCTV footage shared on Ai Weiwei’s Instagram shows a man aggressively pushing over the artist’s “Porcelain Cube” sculpture. After shattering the large blue and white artwork, the man lifted a piece of the broken sculpture over his head in a defiant gesture.

According to the exhibition’s spokesperson, the attacker is known in the art world. Curator Arturo Galansino confirmed this, stating that the perpetrator had been involved in other disruptive incidents at exhibitions and institutions in Florence over the years.

Bologna police later identified and arrested the suspect, a 57-year-old Czech man, after museum security intervened. Details of how he managed to attend the invite-only event remain unclear.

Despite the incident, the exhibition, titled “Who am I?”, continued as planned, with the damaged work being replaced by a life-size print of the “Porcelain Cube.” The exhibition is set to run until May 4.

Ai Weiwei expressed relief that no one was injured in the incident and requested that the remains of the destroyed sculpture be promptly removed from the venue.