The incident occurred at the reception for "Ai Weiwei. Who Am I?"
A man destroyed a large porcelain sculpture by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei on Friday during the opening of his exhibition at Palazzo Fava in Bologna, Italy, the New York Timesreported.
The incident occurred at the reception for "Ai Weiwei. Who Am I?" the artist's first solo exhibition in the city. The man's actions caused alarm among the attendees, leaving the shattered sculpture scattered across the floor.
Security footage, later shared by Ai on his Instagram, shows the man deliberately toppling the sculpture and lifting its broken pieces above his head before museum guards intervened and subdued him.
See the video here:
Mr Ai told the New York Times that the loud sounds of the sculpture shattering made him first think of a terrorist attack or an explosion.
“When I learned that it was my large porcelain artwork that had been destroyed, I was astonished,” he said. “I never imagined that a piece nearly 100 kilos in weight could be damaged so easily.”
Arturo Galansino, the exhibition's curator, revealed that the man was a known figure in the art world. "Unfortunately, I recognize the individual from a series of disruptive and damaging incidents over the years involving exhibitions and institutions in Florence," Galansino said.
Despite the disruption, the exhibition continued as planned, with a life-size print of the damaged sculpture replacing the original. The show is scheduled to run until May 4.
Galansino added that Ai Weiwei's primary concern was that no one had been injured. The artist requested that the remains of the sculpture be removed from the scene. It remains unclear how the man gained entry to the invite-only event.
It was not clear how the man had entered the building during the invite-only event on Friday.