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Artist Marina Abramović was attacked and hit with a “distorted painting” of her face during a book signing in Florence, Italy, Sunday by a man who said he did it in the name “art.”

Abramovic told La Repubblica, “He approached me looking into my eyes and I smiled at him thinking that it was a gift for me. In a split second I saw his expression change and become violent, coming toward me very quickly and forcefully.”

The attacker reportedly said, “I had to do it for my art.”

She told the paper, “Violence against others doesn’t make art.”

A gallery director related Abramovic “is well and has not suffered any physical harm.”