In the night, Jiří David's artwork disappeared from the exhibition at Wenceslas Square

Prague - A work by Jiří David disappeared from Prague's Wenceslas Square overnight. David told ČTK today. The artifact vanished even though it was in a location monitored by a camera system. Criminal investigators are treating the case as theft, said a spokesperson for the Prague police to ČTK.
     David exhibited a huge white cane, which is a multi-meaning symbol for him. It was made of wood and metal. "They probably wanted to take it to a recycling center. Besides the fact that the work was supposed to travel to other exhibitions, I am very sorry that a person's effort who helped me with the production will go to waste," the artist said.
     The exhibition of large sculptures has been running since June 20. Right after the opening, someone damaged two sculptures. Someone knocked the hats off two large mushrooms by Sylvie Fleury located in the Old Town Square, and broke the tail off a pig that is part of Jan Kadlec's installation in the Republic Square. However, both sculptures were quickly repaired. The police are investigating both cases as damage to property, but have not yet caught the perpetrators.
     The destruction of artistic objects poses a significant risk for all similar exhibitions held in public spaces. Nonetheless, according to the organizers, it is worth organizing them, as most viewers look at the sculptures with varying degrees of interest and do not think of destroying them. The sculptures within Sculpture Grande are monitored by a security service, yet they do not escape the attention of individuals with malicious intentions.
     The Sculpture Grande exhibition is organized by Gallery Art Factory and the works presented are outdoors until the end of September. Compared to previous years when the exhibition was mainly at Wenceslas Square, this year sculptures and installations are more spread out across the Old Town and Republic Square.
     Austrian sculptor Erwin Wurm, his compatriot Brigitte Kowanz, British artist Julian Opie, whose other works are currently also exhibited at the Kampa Museum, Swiss artist Sylvia Fleury, Frenchman Jean-Jacques Ory, German author Stephan Balkenhol, and representing the local scene is Jiří David.
     A novelty of this year is an international competition for young artists called Generation Next. The curators invited students from art schools or recent graduates who are under 35 years old and are already beginning to appear on the art scene.