China is a truly exciting country when it comes to fine art at the moment, and one of its brightest stars is Ai Weiwei. Keen art fans might remember his 2010 “Sunflower Seeds” installation at the Tate Modern, where he piled millions of porcelain sunflower seeds onto the gallery floor. The seeds had been individually hand painted by 1,600 artisans in Jingdezhen, China. At first, visitors were invited to walk around in the seeds and experience the satisfying crunch underfoot. Unfortunately this was not to last, as the gallery fenced the installation off due to safety concerns as a result of the porcelain dust.

Ai has an eclectic career background; he studied at Beijing Film Academy in 1978, where he was a founder of avante-garde art group “The Stars”.In 1981, he moved to the US, and studied at Parsons School of Design and the Art Students League of New York. He’s also been a professional blackjack player, and is regarded as a top-tier professional player within the blackjack world.

rAi Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds. Source- tate.org

As well as being known for his elegant large-scale installations, Ai Weiwei is also known for his human rights work and opposition to the Chinese government. This summer, he became known around the world after he was held under arrest for two months following his criticism of the Chinese government’s stance on democracy and human rights. The European Union and United States opposed the detention, and the Tate Modern changed their display to read “Release Ai Weiwei”.

Ai is now out of detention, but forbidden from leaving Beijing. Despite this, he’s just opened a new exhibition, and this time it’s in Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwain ; though he won’t be able to actually attend it. It’s called “Ai Weiwei Absent” and most notably featured an installation on grand scale, called “Forever Bicycles”. The piece is made of over 1000 bicycles, arranged in a 10 ft high display area. The piece reflects the rapid pace of societal and technological changes in China. The museum’s website says:

Its layered labyrinthine space creates what appears to be a moving abstract shape that symbolizes the way in which the social environment in China is changing.

The exhibition also features a self-portrait photo sequence of the artist as a young man, along with a series of bronze heads representing the Chinese Zodiac. The general theme and message of the exhibition focuses around Ai’s forced absence. He remains defiant; after his release, he was forbidden from using Twitter or talking to the media, but has continued to do so regardless.

 

Forever Bicycles Ai Weiwei

Ai WeiWei’s Forever Bicycles. Source – thecoolhunter.net

 

Tate Modern - Release Ai Weiwei. Source - wikipedia.org
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