A vandal somehow got into an invite-only art show in Italy and smashed a large sculpture made by renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, reports Reuters. Ai himself posted surveillance video of the act in Bologna on his Instagram account. "When I learned that it was my large porcelain artwork that had been destroyed, I was astonished," he said, per the New York Times. "I never imagined that a piece nearly 100 kilos [220 pounds] in weight could be damaged so easily." The piece in question was called "Porcelain Cube," per CNN. There was no immediate word on its value.
Ai has over the years become an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, though the vandalism doesn't appear to be related to his politics. Authorities arrested a 57-year-old Czech native who has a history of such stunts, reports ArtNews. "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," says Arturo Galansino, curator of the Ai exhibit at the Palazzo Fava. Last year, for example, the man identified as Vaclav Pisvejc and described as an aspiring artist climbed a statue nude in Florence with the word "censored" written on his body, per the Times. (More Ai Weiwei stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
