Close X

Asia

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s Porcelain Cube destroyed by vandal

The serial provocateur has attacked other artists

LiFTED | Marcus Aurelius | 24 Sep 2024


A man snuck into an Ai Weiwei private opening in Italy on September 20 and pushed over the Chinese artist's latest work, Porcelain Cube. He then jumped up on the pedestal and held one of the pieces of the artwork over his head before security took him down.

Ai Weiwei has had a very distinguished career as a provocative artist. He’s given the middle finger to many landmarks around the globe. He’s also broken things, depicted in three photos is his most famous work, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, from 1995.

On Friday in Italy, Vaclav Pisvejc, a painter known to many for vandalizing other artwork or attacking other artists, hung around Porcelain Cube for a minute or two before going behind the artwork and pushing it over.

Ai Weiwei said, “The sound of the destruction was so loud, resembling an explosion, that I initially thought it was a terrorist attack. Chaos ensued.” Vaclav had approached Ai Weiwei in the days leading up to the art show a few times trying to get him to read a 20-page document, which was in Italian that Ai Weiwei didn’t speak.

Check out the footage of the vandalism below.