ROME (Askume) – A man vandalised a sculpture of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei during the opening of an exhibition at Palazzo Fava in the Italian city of Bologna on Friday, a spokesman for the show said.
CCTV camera footage posted on Ai Weiwei’s Instagram account showed a man pushing against the statue, breaking it, and then lifting a piece above his head.
The spokesperson said the targeted sculpture was the artist’s large blue and white “porcelain cube”.
Arturo Galancino, the exhibition’s curator, said the perpetrator was well-known in the art world.
“Unfortunately, I know the author of this reckless act from a series of disturbing and damaging incidents involving various exhibitions and institutions in Florence over the past few years,” Garancino said.
Bologna police told local media that the 57-year-old Czech national was arrested after being stopped by museum security. Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
The exhibition, titled “Who Am I?”, which opened as usual on Saturday, will now be replaced by a life-size cube print, a spokesperson said. The exhibition will run until May 4.
“Ai Weiwei was concerned that no one would get hurt, so he asked for the remains of the artwork to be covered and removed,” he said.
It’s unclear how the man gained access to the building during Friday’s invitation-only event.
