Sergio Furnari, a New York sculptor originally from Italy, spent $100,000 of his own money to create a lifesize statue of Charlie Kirk, the deceased far-right activist. Despite his hopes that the statue would raise 'millions' of dollars, no one has stepped forward to purchase it. Furnari intended to display the statue in Times Square but has instead been inundated with messages from people threatening to urinate on it.
To add insult to injury, Furnari broke his foot while working on the statue after tripping over a roll of tape in his studio. 'Is it cursed? Maybe. I don't know,' he told the Guardian.
Background on Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk, a far-right political figure and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot dead in September last year. He was known for his racist and bigoted views, including claims that 'prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people' and speculating about Black pilots. Despite this, Kirk became a celebrated figure in Maga circles, though he is far less popular in diverse, Democratic New York City.
Furnari's Motivations
Furnari said he did not agree with Kirk on 'certain issues,' particularly his stance on Palestine. 'I wasn't a fan of Charlie. Like one thing that I couldn't stand about him while he was alive [was] when he was talking about Palestine. [Kirk would say]: "Oh no, Palestine doesn't exist." I thought: "Well, this guy must be out of his mind."'
Instead, Furnari claimed he made the statue to 'glorify and to exercise the first amendment, this freedom of speech,' though he also mentioned supporting Kirk's wife, glorifying democracy, and commemorating a person. He later compared his work to Michelangelo's Pietà or da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
Financial Struggles
Despite no commission, Furnari hoped wealthy figures would donate to him. He spent $100,000 on steel, resin, and labor, but no such donations materialized. He set up an online fundraising campaign aiming for $150,000, potentially millions, to take the statue on tour. As of Thursday, he had raised only $1,400.
'I was thinking that it was going to resonate with the world, with whoever, but man, people are strange out there. Meaning like, nobody is really coming up with support, especially financial support. So far I've spent all my money on this,' Furnari said.
Despite his broken foot and light wallet, Furnari insisted the statue is not cursed. 'The statue is not cursed. The statue is blessed,' he said, though he expressed anger at the lack of support. 'Things financially are a total, absolute nightmare. It's like wow. People are cheap, man. You know, people talk, talk – I know lots of people out there, and everybody's so cheap. You know, like, it's disgusting how cheap they are.'
Future Plans
Furnari's latest plan is to place the statue in Times Square on 10 September, the anniversary of Kirk's death, hoping to drum up interest and recoup some costs. Until then, he is left with a 6ft 4in statue of a renowned racist, which he spent $100,000 making and no one wants to buy. Perhaps it is cursed after all.
