Ai Weiwei

b. 1957, China

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Ai Weiwei Biography

Ai Weiwei was born in 1957, Beijing, China and lives and works in Beijing, China

Opinions

Censorship remains, for Ai, primarily an issue between the state and the martyrs.

What Ai Weiwei’s ‘On Censorship’ Gets Wrong

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Recently Exhibited

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Contemporary art exhibition Group Exhibition Anker Protocol - 2.0 A Place Of Concealment at Galerie Urs Meile Ankerstrasse Switzerland

Group Exhibition Anker Protocol - 2.0 A Place Of Concealment Galerie Urs Meile 5 February–2 April 2026
Ankerstrasse

Contemporary art exhibition Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei at Galerie Urs Meile Lucerne Switzerland

Ai Weiwei Galerie Urs Meile 13 November 2014–21 February 2015
Lucerne

Contemporary art exhibition Ai Weiwei Rebars - Lucerne at Galerie Urs Meile Lucerne Switzerland

Ai Weiwei Rebars - Lucerne Galerie Urs Meile 27 October 2012–12 January 2013
Lucerne

Works Elsewhere

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Whitewashed remnants of History of the State of Emerging Future Works by Ai Weiwei contemporary artwork sculpture

Ai Weiwei Whitewashed remnants of History of the State of Emerging Future Works, 2025 Wood, Pottery, White Paint
60 x 47 x101 cm
Tang Contemporary Art Request Price & Availability

Ai Weiwei in Blue by Ai Weiwei contemporary artwork sculpture

Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei in Blue, 2023 Toy bricks (LEGO)
38 x 38 cm
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Combat Vases by Ai Weiwei contemporary artwork sculpture

Ai Weiwei Combat Vases, 2023 Porcelain
28 x 25 cm
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Ai Weiwei Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola Logo, 2014 Pottery and paint
31 x 21 x26 cm
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Colored Vases by Ai Weiwei contemporary artwork sculpture

Ai Weiwei Colored Vases, 2015 Pottery and paint
36 x 22.5 cm
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Girl with Pearl by Ai Weiwei contemporary artwork sculpture

Ai Weiwei Girl with Pearl, 2022 Toy bricks (LEGO)
38 x 38 cm
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Child Play by Ai Weiwei contemporary artwork sculpture

Ai Weiwei Child Play, 2022 Toy bricks (LEGO)
38 x 38 cm
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Ai Weiwei Quadruplex by Ai Weiwei contemporary artwork sculpture

Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei Quadruplex, 2024 Toy bricks (WOMA)
160 x 160 cm
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Represented By

Galerie Urs Meile contemporary art gallery in Beijing China

Galerie Urs Meile Zurich +2 locations Follow +

Lisson Gallery contemporary art gallery in London United Kingdom

Lisson Gallery 27 Belle St +6 locations Follow +

Tang Contemporary Art contemporary art gallery in Beijing China

Tang Contemporary Art Seoul +4 locations Follow +

Ai Weiwei in Ocula Magazine

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Opinion What Ai Weiwei’s ‘On Censorship’ Gets Wrong Zian Chen The Chinese artist and activist recounts his lived experience of censorship in his new book. He also flattens the nuances of a highly complex topic.

News / Exhibitions Ai Weiwei Will Re-enact Prison Detention in 24-Hour Performance Philippa Kelly Audiences in Manchester will be able to watch a 24‑hour reconstruction of the artist and activist’s 2011 incarceration as part of a larger exhibition considering Chinese‑British relations.

Opinion / Diary ‘People Confuse Being Invited with Having Power’: Hypocrisy and Tenderness at India Art Fair Gautami Reddy The energy was unmistakably high as India’s biggest fair arrived in Delhi. But, asks Gautami Reddy in a new diary, is it time to stop and take a breath?

News Barcelona’s Shuttered Museum of Censored Art Hits the Road Elaine YJ Zheng The world’s first museum dedicated to banned art may have closed last month after prolonged union protests, but it intends to continue to ‘confront censorship’ abroad with a ‘nomadic collection’.

News Ai Weiwei Confronts War in Ukraine with Kyiv Exhibition Elaine YJ Zheng In a Soviet‑era exhibition hall designed to showcase industrial achievement, the Chinese dissident artist’s new installation will provide a dialogue on ‘war and peace, rationality and irrationality’ as Russia continues to wage war in the country.

News Ai Weiwei Responds to Vandal Who Smashed ‘Porcelain Cube’ Sam Gaskin ‘Such destruction is a reflection of the growing divisiveness, irrationality, and violence in society,’ he said.

News Ai Weiwei's Largest U.S. Retrospective to Land in 2025 Elaine YJ Zheng The Chinese artist and provocateur will present major works from over 40 years of output at the Seattle Art Museum.

News Ai Weiwei Has 81 Questions for Artificial Intelligence Sam Gaskin Some of the questions are political, some philosophical, and some—like whether or not AI can draw an eight‑breasted tiger—are a little absurd.

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