Ai Weiwei

Why did Ai Weiwei create this giant tea cube?

Sculptures / 3 minutes of reading

Ai Weiwei has never held back in terms of the amount of experimentation he’s willing to involve in his art. He has attracted much attention in China and the rest of the world for being a controversial artist. His work A Ton of Tea (2007) is easy to understand, as the name suggests, without …

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This was Ai Weiwei’s refugee life jacket installation

Installations / 2 minutes of reading

Life Jackets, was created by well-known and revered Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. For this installation, Weiwei attached a total of 14,000 life jackets that had each been utilized by various refugees to the columns of Berlin’s Konzerthaus concert hall. Life Jackets was not the first installation created by Ai to highlight the …

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Ai Weiwei – The Sichuan earthquake & 90 tons of steel

Sculptures / 2 minutes of reading

The Sichuan earthquake & 90 tons of steel 90 tons of steel reinforcing bars that were destroyed and mangled in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake were essential components of the installation titled Straight by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The 150 rods of steel rebar used were meticulously straightened by hand after being recovered from the schools …

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Ai Weiwei’s crabs – A clever wordplay & internet censorship

Installations / 3 minutes of reading

“My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall. Art should live in the heart of the people.” – Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei’s Shanghai studio torn down by government Artist …

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Our 2018 Art Basel top 10

Installations, Performances, Photography, Sculptures / 9 minutes of reading

Rirkrit Tiravanija – Untitled, 2015 (bangkok boogie woogie, no. 1), 2015 “In 2010, Bangkok erupted in violence with protesters from both the Left and Right, battling the military in the streets. The main weapon on both sides was the tire, both as a barricade and as improvised Molotov cocktail, rolled instead of thrown. In 2015, …

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Ai Weiwei uses thousands of bicycles to create sculpture

Sculptures / 3 minutes of reading

Ai Weiwei & bicycles Bicycles have always featured in Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s installations. The very first time that Ai used bicycles was in his installation known as Very Yao in 2008. As the years have passed, his use of bicycles has only gotten grander as is evident in his piece titled the Forever Bicycles. …

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Why did Ai Weiwei break this million-dollar Han Dynasty vase?

Performances / 4 minutes of reading

Ai Weiwei’s desire to court controversy Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn as an artwork is brilliant and a work of total ingenuity, but in between the lines, it says a lot about the artist: his desire to court controversy. The return of Ai Weiwei to China after living in New York City for more than …

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Ai Weiwei’s colored vases: Clever artwork or vandalism?

Performances, Sculptures / 1 minute of reading

51 ancient Chinese vases covered with brightly colored paint Exhibition visitors have expressed feelings of uneasiness or even pain and nostalgia when seeing Colored Vases by Ai Weiwei. The 51 vases that make up the artwork are originally treasures from the Neolithic Age (5000–3000 BCE) and the artist has dunked them in common industrial paint. …

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Ai Weiwei gives world his middle finger

Performances, Photography / 3 minutes of reading

About Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist and activist. He has been vocal and openly critical of the Chinese government’s stance on democracy and human rights. His work has captured global attention and served to bring attention to social injustices, human rights violations and systemic violence. Ai never shies away from saying what …

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Why did Ai Weiwei dip 2,000 year old Chinese vases in paint?

Performances, Sculptures / 2 minutes of reading

Han Dynasty Vases in Auto Paint The Han Dynasty Vases with Auto-Paint is a work shown as part of Ai Weiwei’s solo exhibition “Evidence”. It is a series of neolithic vases, painted smooth and shining with brightly colored automotive paint. The aged vessels are given a new context, evoking the mass marketing and luxurious consumerist …

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What is Ai Weiwei doing with 9000 children’s backpacks?

Installations / 12 minutes of reading

Ai Weiwei is unmistakably one of the most influential and equally controversial Chinese artists in recent history. He became famous worldwide in 2009 thanks to his highly celebrated art project, Remembering, an art piece he created to honor over 80,000 Chinese, most of whom were school children who perished in the May 2008 Sichuan …

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Ai Weiwei made these two uncomfortable couches from marble

Sculptures / 2 minutes of reading

Ai Weiwei created these two couches It looks like somebody has misplaced two couches right in the center of Zürich, but curious passers looking for a rest will be surprised. The furniture feels hard and cold and doesn’t deliver the expected comfort. The Sofa in White are two artworks made out of marble, created by …

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Ai Weiwei explains his famous Sunflower Seeds

Installations / 8 minutes of reading

Ai Weiwei’s Sunflowers Ai Weiwei emerged as a revolutionary artist on the scene of Chinese art and culture. He served as a protagonist in various dynamic avant-garde movements. His controversial exhibitions have taken the world of art by storm. He has been represented on top in the list of 100 most powerful people who …

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