A sculpture by Art Weiwei was intentionally broken by a man during the opening of his new exhibition in Italy.
The incident occurred on Friday evening during the select opening ceremony of the exhibition “Who Am I?”, a survey on Art Weiwei himself. The survey was being held at the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi in Bologna, Italy – where it would run until May 2025. The destroyed sculpture was “Porcelain Cube”, an exquisite blue-and-white porcelain work. CCTV footage showed a man, later identified as 57-year-old Vaclav Pisvejc, stepping on the sculpture’s plinth and pushing it forward. The intentions of deliberate damage were confirmed when the man picked up one of the broken porcelain pieces and held it above his head. He was detained while trying to leave the museum and later handed over to the police.
Pisvejc, who is a Czech national, is a repeat offender of such crimes. Arturo Galansino, director-general of the museum as well as the curator of the survey, said: “Unfortunately, I know the author of this inconsiderate gesture from a series of disturbing and damaging episodes over the years involving various exhibitions and institutions in Florence.” Previously in 2018, Pisvejc attacked an artist by striking her head with her own painting. In 2023 he climbed naked above a building in Florence, with the word “Censorship” painted over his body.
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He is now arrested under the charges of destruction and defacement of cultural assets, among other charges. Investigators are trying to figure out how he managed to enter the invite-only opening event. The survey was opened to the public as planned on Saturday.
