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Ai Weiwei More Art

Chinese, b. 1957

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.

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Artist: Ai Weiwei
Everything is Art, Everything is Politics By Ai Weiwei
By Ai Weiwei
Located in London, GB
Everything is Art, Everything is Politics By Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei is a prominent Chinese contemporary artist and activist known for his bold and provocative works that challenge po...
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Ai Weiwei - Humanity - Artist’s Book - Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Of 200
By Ai Weiwei
Located in Draper, UT
This limited edition of Ai Weiwei’s book was realized by the publishing house Damocle Edizioni – Venice in 200 numbered copies. The book is hand bound with thermal blankets like thos...
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2010s Contemporary Ai Weiwei More Art

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Gold Leaf

Everything is Art, Everything is Politics By Ai Weiwei
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Everything is Art, Everything is Politics By Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei is a prominent Chinese contemporary artist and activist known for his bold and provocative works that challenge po...
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2010s Contemporary Ai Weiwei More Art

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Wood

Everything is Art, Everything is Politics By Ai Weiwei
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Located in London, GB
Everything is Art, Everything is Politics By Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei is a prominent Chinese contemporary artist and activist known for his bold and provocative works that challenge po...
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2010s Contemporary Ai Weiwei More Art

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Ai Weiwei more art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Ai Weiwei more art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Ai Weiwei in paper, screen print, glass and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Ai Weiwei more art, so small editions measuring 4 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jeff Koons, Melanie Yazzie, and Paul Villinski. Ai Weiwei more art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $477 and tops out at $54,368, while the average work can sell for $8,322.
Questions About Ai Weiwei More Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Yes, Ai Weiwei does paint. While Ai Weiwei is known more for his poetry, sculpture and photography, he did occasionally paint and use paint in his sculptural work. Ai Weiwei is known for his activism and his artwork often encapsulated his political leanings. Shop a selection Ai Weiwei works on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    What Ai Weiwei's art represents depends on the piece. Some of the Chinese artist's works seem to symbolize how the Chinese Community party stripped away individuality and demanded conformity. Many of his pieces communicate messages about various human rights violations. Shop a range of Ai Weiwei art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2024
    Ai Weiwei made Sunflower Seeds to provide a political critique. During his childhood, the Chinese artist frequently saw propaganda posters depicting Mao Zedong, founder of the Chinese Communist Party, as the sun and the citizens of China as sunflowers thriving beneath his rays. His installation featuring 100 million individually handmade sunflower seeds symbolized the poverty that the artist experienced while growing up in Communist China and the reduction of people as individuals / the grouping of individual human beings into a mass that occurred under Communist rule. Shop a collection of Ai Weiwei art on 1stDibs.

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