During the opening reception of Ai Weiwei's new exhibition "Ai Weiwei. Who Am I?" in Bologna, Italy, a shocking incident took place that left guests stunned. On Friday, a man deliberately destroyed one of Weiwei’s artworks—a large porcelain sculpture—at the Palazzo Fava. The act disrupted the evening, which marked Weiwei's first solo exhibition in the city.
The vandal, identified as Vaclav Pisvejc, an aspiring Czech artist notorious for similar actions, forcefully pushed over the 200-pound porcelain sculpture, shattering it into pieces. Footage shared by Ai Weiwei on his Instagram shows Pisvejc lifting the broken pieces above his head before being subdued by security guards.
Ai Weiwei, in a statement, expressed his initial fear that the noise resembled that of a terrorist attack. “I never imagined that a piece nearly 100 kilos in weight could be damaged so easily,” he said, while also emphasizing the frequent occurrence of vandalism in museums. Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident.
Arturo Galansino, the exhibition's curator, was deeply saddened and believed the act was premeditated, adding that it somewhat ruined the atmosphere of the evening. The remains of the sculpture were collected and placed on a pedestal, later covered with a sheet.
Pisvejc’s history of disruptive behavior includes a 2018 attack on Marina Abramovic in Florence, where he slammed a paper portrait over her head, and another instance of spray-painting a statue by Urs Fischer. He has gained notoriety for his attempts to gain attention by disturbing major exhibitions.
Despite the incident, the exhibition opened as scheduled on Saturday, though the destroyed porcelain cube will not be replaced. Weiwei remarked that the destruction itself carried a significant meaning. "Even if a replacement is made, it cannot restore the existential value of the original," he noted. The space where the sculpture once stood will remain empty, accompanied by a photograph of the piece before its destruction.
Jean Dubreil
| ArtMajeur Magazine