A controversial artwork by Swiss artist Miriam Cahn was vandalized on May 7 at Paris’s Palais de Tokyo. Around 3:30 pm, an elderly man, acting alone, entered the museum and defaced Cahn’s painting, fuck abstraction!, with purple spray paint hidden in a medicine bottle. The vandal was quickly apprehended by security and removed by police.
The Palais de Tokyo condemned the act, announcing plans to file a formal complaint for “degradation of property and obstruction of freedom of expression.” Despite the damage, the museum confirmed that Cahn’s painting would remain on display until the exhibition’s scheduled conclusion on May 14.
The incident is the latest chapter in a heated controversy surrounding Cahn’s retrospective, Ma Pensée Serielle (“My Serial Thought”), which opened in February. The painting at the center of the storm, fuck abstraction!, depicts a faceless man engaged in a sexual act with a smaller, kneeling figure whose hands are bound behind their back. While critics, particularly from right-wing groups, have accused Cahn of depicting child abuse, the artist has explained that the work was inspired by reports of war crimes committed by Russian soldiers in Bucha, Ukraine, during their invasion.
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In response to the vandalism, Palais de Tokyo president Guillaume Désanges expressed regret over the incident, acknowledging the controversy but reiterating that the museum would honor its commitment to showcase the work. “In agreement with the artist, we will continue to present the painting with the traces of degradation until the scheduled end of the exhibition,” he said.
The painting has been at the center of intense debate in France for months. In March, six conservative groups, led by the Association Juristes Pour L’Enfance (Lawyers for Childhood), filed a lawsuit against the Palais de Tokyo, arguing that the painting violated French laws prohibiting the exhibition of child pornography. However, the lawsuit was quickly dismissed by an administrative judge, who ruled that Cahn’s painting should be viewed in the context of the crimes in Bucha and could not be understood otherwise.
The plaintiffs’ subsequent appeal to the French Council of State was also rejected. The ongoing debate, fueled by far-right media figures, has garnered statements from several high-profile government officials. President Emmanuel Macron weighed in on Twitter, stating, “To attack a work is to attack our values. In France, art is always free and respect for cultural creation is guaranteed.”
The vandalism has further polarized the conversation, with social media users divided between those defending the artist’s message and others praising the act of protest. The ongoing controversy highlights the fraught intersection of art, censorship, and politics in contemporary France.