Ai Weiwei was born in northwest China but was sent to a labor camp in Beidahuang, Heilongjiang, when he was only a year old. There he was raised for the early years of his life. His father Aì Qīng’s involvement in the Anti-Rightist Movement led to the family's exile shortly afterward to Shihezi, Xinjiang, where Ai spent the duration of his childhood. Upon Mao Zedong’s death, the family returned to Beijing in 1976.
Following the family’s return home, Ai enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy to study animation in 1978. He was one of the founders of the avant-garde art group the Stars alongside contemporaries Ma Desheng, Wang Keping, Mao Lizi, Huang Rui, Li Shuang, Ah Cheng and Qu Leilei. The Stars disbanded in the 1980s, but Ai participated in regular shows that recalled the ten years that the group had been together, including at the Hanart Gallery in 1989 and the retrospective 2007 exhibition at Beijing's Origin Point.
Ai moved to the USA in 1981, among the earliest of students to study abroad following China’s reform in 1980, which afforded him the opportunity to take the TOEFL in 1981. He lived in Philadelphia and then in San Francisco, studying English at the University of California, Berkeley. Afteward, Ai studied at Parsons School of Design in New York City and attended the Art Students League of New York from 1983 to 1986. He initially made a living by drawing street portraits.
Immersing himself in the Pop art scene, which was rapidly gaining popularity, Ai began creating conceptual art and photography. Ai returned to China after his father became ill in 1993, and while there he helped to establish the experimental art scene called Beijing East Village. In 1999, Ai built a studio house in Beijing — his first architectural project. Ai founded the architecture studio FAKE Design in 2003, and co-curated the art exhibition "Fuck Off" with Feng Boyi in Shanghai.
In 2011, Ai was arrested and jailed. Released after 81 days, the government confiscated his passport. His release was in part due to the uproar of the art world against his charges of tax evasion; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the International Council of Museums both organized petitions, collecting almost 100,000 signatures calling for his release. When he reclaimed his passport in 2015, Ai moved to Berlin and lived in a studio. It became a base for him to create his international work.
Ai is the artistic director of China Art Archives & Warehouse. The experimental gallery and archive, co-founded by Ai in 1997, concentrates on experimental art from the People’s Republic of China, initiating and facilitating exhibitions both in China and internationally.
Ai's work is in the collections of museums worldwide, including the Tate, London; Arken, London; Brooklyn Museum, New York; and the RA, London. His international architectural collaborations, including the Beijing National Stadium and the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, have consistently been met with critical acclaim.
Find a variety of authentic Ai Weiwei prints, paintings and other art today on 1stDibs.
$42,584
The Papercut Portfolio -Contemporary, 21st Century, Paper, Ai Weiwei, Red, China
By Ai Weiwei
Located in Zug, CH
In this portfolio, Ai Weiwei reflects on his life and work through the Chinese art of papercutting, creating a beautiful personal retrospective in a unique format. The Papercut Port...
Paper
Watchmen
By Tony Dagradi
Located in New Orleans, LA
[New Orleans, LA ::: b. 1952 - Queens, NY] BIO : TONY DAGRADI is an internationally recognized jazz performer, artist, composer, author and educator. For over three decades he has...
Paper, Varnish
$880
H 11.5 in W 9 in D 1.25 in
Art book: 30 Americans artists (hand signed and dated by Glenn Ligon)
By Glenn Ligon
Located in New York, NY
Glenn Ligon 30 Americans Rubell Family Collection (hand signed and dated by Glenn Ligon), 2012 Hardback monograph with no dust jacket as issued (hand signed and dated by Glenn Ligon) Hand signed and dated 2012 by Glenn Ligon 11 1/2 × 9 × 1 1/4 inches Provenance Hand signed by Glenn Ligon at the opening reception for the present owner (see included documentation) Makes a fantastic gift! This hardback monograph with illustrated boards was published on the occasion of the exhibition at Luhring Augustine Gallery in NY from October 26 to December 8, 2012. Hand signed and dated 2012 by Glenn Ligon for the present owner From its inception in the 1960s, the Rubell Collection has been able to boast a particularly fine range of African-American art. Recent New York exhibitions inspired the Rubell family to mount an exhibition of their holdings in this area, reproduced here in 30 Americans. With a late addition to this exhibition, there are in fact 31 artists: Nina Chanel Abney, John Bankston, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mark Bradford, Iona Rozeal Brown, Nick Cave, Robert Colescott, Noah Davis, Leonard Drew, Renée Green, David Hammons, Barkley L. Hendricks, Rashid Johnson, Glenn Ligon, Kalup Linzy, Kerry James Marshall, Rodney McMillian, Wangechi Mutu, William Pope L., Gary Simmons, Xaviera Simmons, Lorna Simpson, Shinique Smith...
Paper, Mixed Media, Permanent Marker, Lithograph, Offset
$566
H 11.82 in W 11.82 in
Nicky Chubb, Happy Day II, Original Collage, Affordable Art, Floral Art
By Nicky Chubb
Located in Deddington, GB
Nicky Chubb Happy Day II Original Collage Collage with Resin Image Size: H 30cm x W 30cm Signed on Back Sold Unframed but Ready to Hang Nicky Chubb artist with Wychwood Art. Nicky C...
Canvas, Resin, Paper
No 6 Female #3 #1A and B
By Ant Pearce
Located in Brecon, Powys
Double sided image #3 #1 A and B verso Cotton sewn on paper
Cotton, Rag Paper
122
By Jenny Day
Located in New Orleans, LA
[Tucson, AZ / Santa Fe, NM ::: b. 1981] JENNY DAY (b.1981) is a painter who divides her time between Tucson, Arizona and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She earned an MFA in Painting and Draw...
Paper, Mixed Media
$650
H 14 in W 14 in D 2.5 in
"PISS OFF" from Text-I-monial series by Charles Clary
By Charles Clary
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"PISS OFF" is an original wall-hanging sculpture by Charles Clary as part of the artist's popular "Text-i-monial" series. To create the artwork, Clary hand cuts a series of individua...
Paper, Wood Panel
$1,100
H 17.72 in W 17.72 in D 0.12 in
Xenestela 3. From The Series Xenestela
By Fredy Saul Serrano Buitrago
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Exuberantly colorful, symmetric colleges with ovoid shapes, called emissaries, originate from another cosmic dimension. We are troubled by the unsettling apprehension that they may b...
Archival Paper, Magazine Paper
$1,100
H 17.72 in W 17.72 in D 0.12 in
Xenestela 7. From The Series Xenestela
By Fredy Saul Serrano Buitrago
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Exuberantly colorful, symmetric colleges with ovoid shapes, called emissaries, originate from another cosmic dimension. We are troubled by the unsettling apprehension that they may b...
Archival Paper, Magazine Paper
$1,100
H 17.72 in W 17.72 in D 0.12 in
Xenestela 14. From The Series Xenestela
By Fredy Saul Serrano Buitrago
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Exuberantly colorful, symmetric colleges with ovoid shapes, called emissaries, originate from another cosmic dimension. We are troubled by the unsettling apprehension that they may b...
Archival Paper, Magazine Paper
$1,250
H 17.72 in W 17.72 in D 0.12 in
Xenestela 1. From The Series Xenestela
By Fredy Saul Serrano Buitrago
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Exuberantly colorful, symmetric colleges with ovoid shapes, called emissaries, originate from another cosmic dimension. We are troubled by the unsettling apprehension that they may b...
Archival Paper, Magazine Paper
$180
H 6 in W 6 in
Pony Gurl Mixed Media Artwork, Collage and Embroidery, 21st Century
By Kelly Kozma
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This piece titled "Pony Gurl" is an original artwork made from collage, hand embroidery, and latex paint on canvas by Kelly Kozma. This piece is shipped in the pictured white frame a...
Thread, Paper
$260
H 8 in W 8 in D 1.25 in
"I See Your Beauty" CMYK Process Test Print Collage On Panel
By Kelly Kozma
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This sculpture titled "I See Your Beauty" is an original artwork by Kelly Kozma as part of her newest exhibition, "Watch Me Backflip." This exhibition is made up of meticulously coll...
Paper, Found Objects, Acrylic, Panel
Sold
H 31 in W 8 in D 0.3 in
F?!k (There are No Outdoor Sports as Graceful as Throwing Stones at a Dictators)
By Ai Weiwei
Located in New York, NY
Ai Weiwei F*?!k (There are No Outdoor Sports as Graceful as Throwing Stones at a Dictatorship in the World), 2010 Limited Edition Silkscreen on 7 Ply Grade A Canadian Maplewood 31 × ...
Wood, Screen
Sold
H 74.81 in W 39.38 in
Wo ist die Revolution -Contemporary, 21st Century, Ai Weiwei, China
By Ai Weiwei
Located in Zug, CH
Wo ist die Revolution -Contemporary, 21st Century, Ai Weiwei, China Wo ist die Revolution, 2019 Inkjet Print Edition of 180 190 x 100 cm (74.8 x 39.3 in.) Signed and numbered In mint condition, as acquired from the publisher in the original packaging PLEASE NOTE: Edition numbers could vary from the one shown in the images. The pictures are only for illustrative reasons, the work is offered unframed. “If you look at art history you see that only important art moments...
Inkjet
Artist’s Hand - sculpture by Ai Weiwei
By Ai Weiwei
Located in London, GB
Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) The Artist’s Hand, 2017 Artist’s signature inscribed on the base Cast urethane resin multiple with electroplated rhodium, contained in the original cardboard pres...
Resin, Mixed Media