Ai Weiwei
- Introduction
- Ai Weiwei (Chinese: 艾未未; pinyin: Ài Wèiwèi, English pronunciation (help·info); born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist. Ai grew up in the far north-west of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of "tofu-dreg schools" in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport on 3 April, for "economic crimes". He was detained for 81 days without charge. Ai Weiwei emerged as a vital instigator in Chinese cultural development, an architect of Chinese modernism, and one of the nation's most vocal political commentators.Ai Weiwei encapsulates political conviction and his personal poetry in his many sculptures, photographs and public works. In doing this, he makes use of Chinese art forms to display the Chinese political and social issues.After being allowed to leave China in 2015, he has lived in Berlin, Germany, and, since 2019, in Cambridge, UK, with his family, working and traveling internationally.
- Wikidata
- Q160115
- Introduction
- Attended the Beijing Film Academy, then the Art Students League and Parsons School of Design in New York City, from 1981. He returned to China in 1993. He was editor and publisher of art magazines Black Paper, White Paper, and Gray Paper in the mid-1990s, and has been active in the fields of architecture, landscape design, and city planning, as well as constructing works that are more accurately described as sculptural installations.
- Nationality
- Chinese
- Gender
- Male
- Roles
- Artist, Architect, Curator, Designer, Publisher, Landscape Architect, Conceptual Artist, Installation Artist, Sculptor
- Names
- Ai Weiwei, Weiwei Ai, Ai Wei Wei, Wei-wei Ai, 艾未未
- Ulan
- 500125586
Exhibitions
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9 + 1 Ways of Being Political: 50 Years of Political Stances in Architecture and Urban Design
Sep 12, 2012–Jun 9, 2013
MoMA
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Print/Out
Feb 19–May 14, 2012
MoMA
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Contemporary Collection
Nov 16, 2011–Feb 9, 2014
MoMA
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Staging Action: Performance in Photography since 1960
Jan 28–May 9, 2011
MoMA
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The Original Copy: Photography of Sculpture, 1839 to Today
Aug 1–Nov 1, 2010
MoMA
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Ai Weiwei has
6 exhibitionsonline.
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Ai Weiwei The Black Cover Book 1994
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Ai Weiwei The White Cover Book 1995
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Ai Weiwei The Grey Cover Book 1997
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Ai Weiwei Fuck Off 2000
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Ai Weiwei Study of Perspective - Berne 1995-2003
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Ai Weiwei Study of Perspective - Eiffel Tower 1995-2003
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Ai Weiwei Study of Perspective - Hong Kong 1995-2003
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Ai Weiwei Study of Perspective - Mona Lisa 1995-2003
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Ai Weiwei Study of Perspective - San Marco 1995-2003
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Ai Weiwei Study of Perspective - Tiananmen Square 1995-2003
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Ai Weiwei Study of Perspective - White House 1995-2003
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Various Artists, Christian Jankowski, Cosima von Bonin, Ulla von Brandenburg, Ai Weiwei, Heimo Zobernig Parkett no. 81 2008
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