It’s no surprise that Ai Weiwei likes to stir the pot. The Chinese dissident artist is well known for giving the bird to authority figures around the world, as well as questioning artificial intelligence through a monumental public installation he recently showcased with CIRCA at London’s Piccadilly Circus. But over the weekend at Weiwei’s new exhibition at Palazzo Fava in Bologna, a 57-year-old Czech man flipped the script and caused a stir himself by deliberately smashing one of the artist’s sculptures.
Per reports, Vaclav Pisvejc was well-known to art insiders for wreaking havoc during exhibitions, smashing a Marina Abramović painting in 2018, amongst other offenses. During the opening night of Weiwei’s Who am I? solo show, CCTV captures Pisvejc knocking Porcelain Cube off a plinth and raising one of the broken shards over his head. “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,” said the exhibition’s curator Arturo Galansino.
It’s not clear how Pisvejc entered the show, as it was an invite-only affair. He was immediately arrested after destroying the artwork, which Weiwei reposted on his Instagram, saying: “I hope for his sake that he didn’t hurt himself on the pieces of porcelain.”
Who am I? presents a career-long survey covering Weiwei’s interrogation into systems of power, along with more explorations into artificial intelligence. The exhibition will be on view in Bologna until April 4, 2025.
Palazzo Fava
Via Manzoni, 2,
40121 Bologna, Italy
