But just hours later, the aspiring artist’s hopes for his big break were dimmed when his stunt instead landed him in big trouble with his employer – and the police. The 51-year-old exhibition technician and self-proclaimed “freelance artist” smuggled one of his paintings into the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany, on February 26 and hung it on a wall in one of the galleries, according to German tabloid Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Munich police.
This means that the public prosecutor’s office will now decide what happens,” Christian Drexler, chief superintendent of the Munich Police, told CNN. “But it’s up to the judiciary to decide in each individual case.” The painting “was attached to an exhibition wall with two screws, which is why this exhibition wall was damaged and the Munich criminal investigation department is now investigating the damage to property caused by the drill holes,” Drexler added.