AI WEIWEI


AI WEIWEI

Chinese conceptual artist Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) explores the multifaceted nuances and complexities of our contemporary society. Known for observing and commenting on political and social changes in his home country as well as in the Western world, his artistic practice revolves around emotive themes such as human rights, freedom of speech, economic exploitation and environmental damages. His works often move beyond the art world into the realm of social activism. As a fine connoisseur of Chinese art and antiques, Ai often reflects on the perception of Chinese culture and the alienation of ancient objects in his work. In his sculptures and installations, he favours the use of traditional materials such as porcelain, jade, marble or precious wood. He is also celebrated for his films, photographs and works in Lego, as much as his architectural and curatorial work.

‘Ai Weiwei transforms his life into art, turning the things he encounters and the events he experiences into artistic statements. Yet this personal aspect is often coupled with references to specifically Chinese material and […] traditions. Regardless of whether he deconstructs these traditions or reshapes them, thus imbuing them with new qualities, their original meanings remain present in his works. By identifying and interpreting these references, one may hope to contribute to a better understanding of the multifaceted and highly complex dimensions of his art.’

U. Rahman-Steinert, Ambivalent Deconstruction: Ai Weiwei’s approach to tradition’, in Ai Weiwei: Evidence, Prestel, 2014

Image: Surveillance Camera and Plinth, 
2015
, marble
, 120 x 52 x 52 cm.; 47 1/4 x 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 in. Photo: courtesy of © Ai Weiwei Studio


Artist Talk

Solo Exhibitions


Group Exhibitions


Selected Institutional Exhibitions


Biography


VITA

1957

Born in Beijing, China


1981

Graduated Beijing Film Academy, Beijing


1982

Parsons School of Design, New York


2011

Honorary Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts, London


2012

Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent from the Human Rights Foundation


2013

Appraisers Association Award for Excellence in the Arts


2015 

Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International


2018

Marina Kellen French Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award


2019

Frank-Schirrmacher-Prize


2022

Premium Imperiale Award


Lives and works between the UK, Portugal and Germany

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

a/political gallery, London

Art Center Hugo Voeten, Herentals

Centre Pompidou, Paris

De Pont Museum, Tilburg

Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg

Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen

Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris

Guggenheim Museum, New York

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek

Marciano Collection, Los Angeles

Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Museen Dahlem, Berlin

Museum DKM, Duisburg

Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin

Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt/Main

Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego

Museum of Modern Art, New York

Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

Rubell Family Collection, Miami

Tate Modern, London

The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm

Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City

 

ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS

2012

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, designed in collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron, London (constructed)

Urban Folly, Gwangju (under construction)


2010

Sanctuary, Ruta del Peregrino (constructed)

Contemplating the Void” Guggenheim Competition, New York (unrealized)


2009

The Guest House (Tsai Residence), in collaboration with HHF, New York (constructed)

Olympic Tower Competition, London (unrealized)

Kunstmuseum Extension Competition, in collaboration with HHF, Basel (unrealized)


2008

The Beijing Olympic Stadium, in collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron, London (constructed)

The Dog House, Tokyo (unrealized)

53 Caochangdi, Caochangdi, Beijing (constructed)

Red Grey Village (211 Caochangdi), in collaboration with SKA Architects, Caochangdi, Beijing (partially constructed)

Ten Cubes, in collaboration with SKA Architects, Caochangdi, Beijing (unrealized)

Li Jiang Studio, Lijiang, Yunnan (constructed)

Kerry Center Interior (Hanhai Auction House), Beijing (constructed)

Jiading Malu (Shanghai Studio), Shanghai (constructed, destroyed)

Ding Yi Studio, Shanghai (constructed, destroyed)

Curator, urban planning, landscape design of  Ordos 100, Ordos (under construction)

Alexander Ochs Gallery Interior, Berlin (unrealized)


2007

Lage Restaurant, Shanghai (constructed)

The Great Pyramid, Dessau (unrealized)

Seventeen Studios, Caochangdi, Beijing (constructed)

Fairytale 1,001 Dormitory, Kassel (constructed, temporary)

Undercover Villa, Ordos (constructed)

Naga Interior Design, in collaboration with EXH, Beijing (constructed)

Red No. 1 Art Galleries, Caochangdi, Beijing (constructed)

Liu Xiaoning Film Studio, Beijing (constructed)


2006

Jinhua Five-Hundred Islands in Conjunction Master Plan, Jinhua, Zhejiang (unrealized)

Art Farm, in collaboration with HHF, New York (constructed)

China Blue Gallery, Beijing (constructed)

Gallery unter den Linden Interior, Berlin (unrealized)

Left Right Studio (Rennovation), Beijing (constructed)

Curator Left Right Art District, Beijing (constructed)

Music Nation Studio, Beijing (unrealized)

Jiangnanhui, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (constructed)

Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Caochangdi, Beijing (constructed)

Kunming Art Valley, Kunming, Yunnan (unrealized)

National Art Museum of China Extension (Competition #2), in collaboration with CADG, Beijing (unrealized)

Courtyard House (Ma Jia), Beijing (constructed)

Artist Studio (Concept Design), Hangzhou, Zhejiang (unrealized)


2005

Cola House, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (constructed)

Tsai Residence, in collaboration with HHF, New York (constructed)

National Art Museum of China Extension (Competition #1), in collaboration with CADG, Beijing (unrealized)

Shulang Factory, Yantai, Shandong (constructed)

Courtyard 104 (Galerie Urs Meile), Caochangdi, Beijing (constructed)

Haikou Villa, Hainan (unrealized)

Memorial for Mountain Climbers, Huangshan, Anhui (unrealized)

Guiyan Residential Planning, Kunming, Yunnan (unrealized)

Club House of Water Villa, Lijiang, Yunnan (unrealized)

Tree House, Lijiang, Yunnan (constructed)

Bian Bian Shopping Street, Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan (unrealized)


2004

Ying Cai Tower, Beijing (unrealized)

Qingdao Creative Media Institute of Beijing Film Academy, Qingdao, Shandong (unrealized)

Courtyard 105, Beijing (constructed)

Go Where? Restaurant, Beijing (constructed)

Cuo House, Beijing (unrealized)

Neolithic Pottery Museum, Jinhua, Zhejiang (constructed)

Jinhua Architectural Art Park, Jinhua, Zhejiang (constructed)

National Museum of China (competition), in collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron, Beijing (unrealized)

Nine Boxes, Beijing (constructed)

Artist Residence (Hai Bo), Songzhuang, Beijing (constructed)

Showroom for Courtyard on the Canal, Beijing (constructed)

Six Rooms, Nanjing, Jiangsu (constructed)

Landscape Design of National Stadium, Beijing (unrealized)

China Merchant’s Office Tower, Beijing (constructed)

Guang Han Tang Architectural Design, Beijing (unrealized)

Ya Bar (space design), Beijing (constructed)

Shanghai Pudong Crowne Plaza Hotel (Renovation), Shanghai (constructed)


2003

Songshan Lake Culture and Exhibition Center, Dongguang, Guangzhou (unrealized)

Beijing Rui Cheng Central Plaza, Beijing (unrealized)

Commercial and Cultural Center of Jingdong New District, in collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron, Jinhua, Zhejiang (unrealized)

Landscape Design of Ai Qing Middle School, Jinhua, Zhejiang (constructed)

Beijing Airport Restaurant, Beijing (unrealized)


2002

Shi Guangnan Music Plaza, Jinhua (unrealized)

“European Classic” Studio Sample Room, Beijing (constructed)

Qingdao Kylin Hot Spring Villa, Qingdao, Shandong (constructed)

Anter Automotive Factory, Huaiyin, Jiangsu (constructed)

Landscape Design of Yiwu River Bank, Jinhua, Zhejiang (constructed)

Landscape Design of Ai Qing Cultural Park, Jinhua, Zhejiang (constructed)

Ai Qing Memorial, Jinhua, Zhejiang (constructed)

Shanghai University of Visual Art, Shanghai (unrealized)

National Stadium, in collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron, Beijing (constructed)


2001

Non-Talking Porch, Beijing (constructed)

Landscape Design Commune by the Great Wall, Beijing (constructed)

Boao Villa, Haikou, Hainan (unrealized)

Bar Jia 55, Beijing (constructed, demolished)


2000

In Between: Installation, SOHO, Beijing (constructed)

Landscape Design of SOHO, Beijing (constructed)

China Art Archives and Warehouse, Caochangdi, Beijing (constructed)


1999

Ai Weiwei Studio, Caochangdi, Beijing (constructed)

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023

know thyself

neugerriemschneider, Berlin

In Search of Humanity

Kunsthal Rotterdam

Making Sense

The Design Museum, London

Zodiac

Vito Schnabel Gallery, St. Moritz

Public installation: Ego Vici Mvndvm
Abbazia San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice


2022

La Commedia Umana - Memento Mori
Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

La Commedia Umana
The Baths of Diocletian, Rome

In Search of Humanity
Albertina Modern, Vienna

The Liberty of Doubt
Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge (catalogue)


2021

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea (MMCA), Seoul

Intertwine. Pequi Tree, Roots and Human Figures
Serralves Museum, Porto

Rapture
Cordoaria Nacional, Lisbon

Kaviar Factory, Lofoten

Marbre, Porcelaine, Lego
Galerie Max Hetzler, Paris

Trace
Skiball Cultural Center, Los Angeles


2020

Purgatory
Aedes Architecture Forum, Berlin

History of Bombs
Imperial War Museum, London


2019

Ai Weiwei: The Mueller Report / Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
Cahiers d'Art Revue, Paris

Ai Weiwei: Bare Life
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University, St. Louis

Roots
Neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Lisson Gallery, London

Everything is art. Everything is politics
K20, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf

Unbroken
The Gardiner Museum, Toronto

Raiz
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Belo Horizonte


2018

Cao / Humanity
UTA Artist Space, Beverly Hills

Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles

Life Cycle
Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles

Raiz Weiwei
OCA, São Paulo

The Activist Artist
Fundación CorpArtes, Santiago

Fan-Tan
Mucem, Marseille

Laundromat
Garage Gallery, Fire Station, Doha


2017

Inoculation
Fundación PROA, Buenos Aires;
Corpartes, Santiago;
OCA, São Paulo

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
Public Art Fund, New York

Ai Weiwei. D'ailleurs c'est toujours les autres
Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne

On Porcelain
Sakip Sabanci Museum, Istanbul

Massimo de Carlo, Milan

Trace at Hirshhorn
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.

Maybe, Maybe Not
Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads
Bayfront Gardens, The Ringling, Sarasota

The Contemporary Austin

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield

Odyssey
Zona Arti Contemporanea, Palermo

Ai Weiwei: Soleil Levant
Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen

#AiWeiwei
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College, Chicago (catalogue)

Mountains and Seas
Château La Coste, Le Puy Ste Réparade

Law of the Journey
National Gallery, Prague

Tyre
Galerie Forsblom, Stockholm

Natural State
Frederik Meijers Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids


2016

Ai Weiwei: Laundromat
Jeffrey Deitch, New York

Roots and Branches
Mary Boone Gallery, New York

Roots and Branches
Lisson Gallery, New York

Ai Weiwei: Around Ai Weiwei - Photographs 1983–2016
Camera, Torino

Ai Weiwei. Libero
Palazzo Strozzi, Florence (catalogue)

#SafePassage
Foam, Amsterdam

Galerie Max Hetzler, Paris

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold Series
Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, travelled to:
Tucson Museum of Art;
Arken Museum of Modern Art, Skovvej

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Bronze Series
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, travelled to:
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh;
The Rose F. Kennedy Greenway, Boston;
National Gallery in Prague, Prague;
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento

translocation - transformation
21er Haus, Vienna

Ai Weiwei at Cycladic
The Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens


2015

Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, travelled to:
The Andy Warhol Museum Pittsburgh, 2016

Helsinki Art Museum

Royal Academy, London (catalogue)

Forever in the City
Sculpture in the City, London

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Bronze Series
Alder Planetarium Chicago, travelled to:
The Tuileries Garden at the Louvre, Paris;
The National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole;
CAC – Contemporary Art Center of Malaga

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold Series
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, travelled to:
Phoenix Art Museum;
Portland Art Museum;
Palm Springs Museum of Art


2014

Francis M. Naumann Fine Art, New York

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Bronze Series
Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold Series
Palm Springs Museum of Art, travelled to:
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire;
The Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas;
The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow

According to What?
Brooklyn Museum, New York

Evidence
Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin (catalouge)

Lisson Gallery, London

@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island, San Francisco

New York Photographs 1983–1993
The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Vancouver

On the Table
La Virreina, Barcelona



2013

Ordos
Galleria Continua - Le Moulin, Boissy-le-Chatel

Disposition
55th Venice Biennale, Collateral Event, Zuecca Project Space, Venice

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Bronze Series
Cleveland Museum of Art, travelled to:
Perez Art Museum, Miami;
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold Series
The Long House Reserve, East Hampton

Baby Formula
Michael Janssen Gallery, Singapore

According to What?
Indianapolis Museum of Art,, travelled to:
Perez Art Museum, Miami;
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

Resistance and Tradition
Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Seville

Interlacing
São Paulo Museum of Image and Sound


2012

Entrelacs
Jeu de Paume, Paris

Museum de Pont, Tilburg

Interlacing
Kistefos-Museet, Jevnaker

Magazin 3, Stockholm Konsthall

Mary Boone Gallery, New York

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Bronze Series
Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Washington, travelled to:
Ukrainian Biennale of Modern Art Kyiv;
Hermann Park, Houston;
Taipei Fine Arts Museum;
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold Series
The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, travelled to:
Musée d'art Contemporain de Montréal

Lisson Gallery, Milan

According to What?
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington


2011

Teehaus 2009
Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold Series
Somerset House, London, travelled to:
Pulitzer Fountain Grand Army Plaza, New York

Foto Museum, Winterthur

Lisson Gallery, London

Kunsthaus Bregenz

Dropping the UM (Ceramic Works, 5000 BC-AD 2010)
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen

Ai Weiwei in New York: Fotografien 1983–1993
Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin

Ai Weiwei Absent
Taipei Fine Art Museum


2010

Faurschou Gallery, Copenhagen

Cube Light
Misa Shin Gallery, Tokyo

A few works from Ai Weiwei
Alexander Ochs Galleries, Berlin

The unilever Series: Ai Weiwei
Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold Series
29th São Paulo Biennale

Hurt Feelings
Christine König Galerie, Vienna

Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne

Dropping the Um: Ceramics 5000 BCE-2010 CE
Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, travelled to:
Arcadia University Gallery, Glenside

Haines Gallery, San Francisco

Barely Something
Museum DKM and Stiftung DKM, Duisburg


2009

With Milk_find something everybody can use
Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, Barcelona

World Map
Faurschou Gallery, Beijing

So Sorry
Haus der Kunst, Munich

According to What?
Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

Ways Beyond Art
Ivory Press Space, Madrid

Four Movements
Philips de Pury, London

New York Photographs 1983–1993
Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing


2008

Albion Gallery, London

Hyundai Gallery, Seoul

Under Construction
Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Campbelltown

Arts Center, Sydney

Illumination
Mary Boone Gallery, New York

Go China: Ai Weiwei
Groningen Museum


2007

Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne

Traveling Landscape
Aedes Land, Berlin


2006

Fragments
Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing


2004

Kunsthalle Bern

Caermersklooster - Provinciaal Cenrtrum voor Kunst en Cultuur, Ghent

Robert Miller Gallery, New York


2003

Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne


1988

Old Shoes - Safe Sex
Art Waves Gallery, New York


1982

Asian Foundation, San Francisco

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023

Forms

Gagosian / Jeffrey Deitch at Miami Design District, Miami

Zeit

Kunsthaus Zürich

Artists’ Buttons

Loewe Store, London

#nichtmuedewerden: Felix Nussbaum und künstlerischer Widerstand heute

Museumsquartier Osnabrück

Artists’ Buttons

Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge

Status Report

Kunstraum Potsdam | Waschhaus

Underneath Everything: Humility and Grandeur in Contemporary Ceramics

Des Moines Art Center

Trace – Formations of Likeness. Photography and Video from The Walther Collection

Haus der Kunst, Munich 

States of Violence
The Bacon Factory, London

Why Are You Creative?

Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier

Distant Voices
Galerie Max Hetzler, Paris


2022

From Here, For Now
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Air
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City

Forest: Wake This Ground
Arnolfini, Bristol

Sky to the East, Sky to the West
Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg

At The End Of The Rainbow
Arken Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj

Beyond Condex: Living Archives
Center for Book Arts, New York

A Century of the Artist´s Studio: 1920–2020
Whitechapel Gallery, London

neugerriemschneider, Berlin


2021

Legacies of Exchange: Chinese Contemporary Art from the Yuz Foundation
Resnick Pavilion, LACMA, Los Angeles

Lovely Creatures
Ludwig Forum, Aachen

Helga de Alvear Collection
Centro de Artes Visuales Fundación Helga de Alvear, Cáceres

Glasstress Boca Raton 2021
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton (catalogue)

Truc à faire
Galleria Continua, Paris


2020

Inaugural Installations: Kinder Building
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Curators' selection. Summer Exhibition 2020
Royal Academy, London

Artists for New York
Hauser & Wirth, New York

When Home Won't Let You Stay: Art and Migration
Minneapolis Institute of Art (catalogue)

There Is Another Way of Looking at Things
Schauwerk Sindelfingen

Sight Seeing. Die Welt als Attraktion
Kunsthalle Emden

Facing the Collector. The Sigg Collection of Contemporary Art from China
Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, Turin


2019

FLAG – objekt, ikon, symbol
Randers Kunstmuseum

Der Funke Gottes! Die neuen Schatz + Wunderkammer im Bamberger Diözesanmuseum
Diözesanmuseum Bamberg

TEXT ME
white trash contemporary, Hamburg

CHINESE WHISPERS: Recent Art from the Sigg Collection
MAK, Vienna


2018

Face to Face
Kerlin Gallery, Dublin

LOOK! LISTEN! Art is in the churches
Hauptkirche St. Katharinen, Hamburg

2050, A Brief History of the Future
National Taiwan Museum of Art, Taichung

21st Biennale of Sydney
Various locations, Sydney

Hope is Strong
Millennium Gallery, Sheffield

Zum Anbeißen: Früchte in der Kunst - Aus der Sammlung Rainer Wild
Museum der Brotkultur, Ulm

Why are you creative?
Museum für Kommunikation, Berlin


2017

Dangerous Art
Haifa Museum of Art

ISelf Collection: The Upset Bucket
Whitechapel Gallery, London (catalogue)

Stage of Being
Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar (catalogue)

Amsterdam Light Festival

Extra Bodies – The Use of the «Other Body» in Contemporary Art
Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich

Age of Terror: Art Since 9/11
Imperial War Museum, London

How To Say It The Way It Is!
Rua Red, Dublin

Everything at Once
Lisson Gallery and The Vinyl Factory at The Store Studios, 180 The Strand, London

Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

Reenacting history_ Collective Actions and Everyday Gestures
MMCA, Gwacheon

Der Baum als Kunstwerk
Wälderhaus, Hamburg

Recent Acquisitions
Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen

Yokohama Triennale 2017 – Islands, Constellations & Galapagos
Various venues, Yokohama

Wären Fluss und Meere Tinte
Christine König Galerie, Vienna

Red-Hot and Newly Acquired: Recent Additions to the Collection
Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro

Fragile State
Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev

Hansel & Gretel: Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Ai Weiwei
Park Avenue Armory, New York

Chinese Summer
Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo

Luther und die Avantgarde
Altes Gefängnis, Wittenberg

Glasstress 2017
Palazzo Franchetti San Marco, Fondazione Berengo, Venice

And what, for example, am I now seeing?
Galleria Continua, Les Moulins

Roland Flexner - Ai Weiwei
Massimo de Carlo, Hong Kong

Kneaded Knowledge - The Language of Ceramics
National Gallery, Prague


2016

Primary structures and speculative forms
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Kneaded Knowledge - The Language of Ceramics
Kunsthaus Graz

Invisible Threads: Technology and its Discontent
NYUAD Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi

Post Resettlement: Ai Weiwei/Eid Htaleen
Aedes Architecture Forum, Berlin

Holiday – Summer Group Show
IBID Projects, London

Landscapes After Ruskin: Redefining The Sublime
Hall Art Foundation, Reading

Andy Warhol / Ai Weiwei
The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh

Art From Elsewhere – International Contemporary Art from UK Galleries
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol & Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne

Vitaminbombe. Früchtebilder von Picasso bis Warhol
Kunsthalle Emden

Black Chamber
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Rijeka

Megacities Asia
Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Towards A Larger World
Moderna Museet Malmö

Daily Formalism
BANK – MABSOCIETY, Shanghai

Nervous Systems, Quantified Life and the Social Question
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin

CERAMIX, Art et Céramique de Rodin à Schütte
Cité de la Céramique, Sèvres

CERAMIX, Art et Céramique de Rodin à Schütte
La Maison Rouge, Paris

Chinese Whispers. Recent Art from the Sigg & M + Sigg Collections
Kunstmuseum Bern

East Asian Video Frames: Shades of Urbanization
Pori Art Museum


2015

A New Dynasty - Created in China
ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum

Sculpture in the City 2015
Sculpture in the City, London

Mix: Winter
Lawrence Alkin Gallery, London

The Road Not Taken
Misa Shin Gallery, Tokyo

Temporary Boundary
Galerie Paris-Beijing, Paris

Reife Früchte – junges Gemüse
Kurpfälzisches Museum der Stadt Heidelberg

After Eden - Photography from The Walther Collection
La Maison Rouge, Paris

Ceramix – Ceramic art from Gauguin to Schütte
Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, travelled to:
La Maison Rouge, Paris, 2016;
Cité de la céramique, Sèvres, 2016

Risk
Turner Contemporary, Margate

Follia Continua! 25 Years of Galleria Continua
Le Centquatre, Paris

Brief History of the Future
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Don´t Follow The Wind
Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo

6. Fotofestival Mannheim-Ludwigshafen-Heidelberg
Raum für Fotografie, Mannheim

Íntimos extraños: la política como celbridad, la celebridad como política
Centro Cultural Matucana 100, Santiago

China – A Summer Show 2015
Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong

The M+ Sigg Collection: Chinese art from the 1970s to now
The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

When we share more than ever
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg

Art from Elsewhere
MIMA, Middlesborough

28 Chinese
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, travelled to:
San Antonio Museum of Art

To Camera
Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

ArtZuid 2015
Foundation Art Zuid, Amsterdam

The Order of Things – Photography from The Walther Collection
The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm

Go-East – The Gene & Brian Sherman Contemporary Asian Art Collection
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Hamber Hipster Handy: Im Bann des Mobiltelefons
Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt

Experiments with Truth: Gandhi and Images of Nonviolence
Musée International de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge, Geneva

Andy Warhol sul comò
Museo d´Arte Contemporanea di Villa Groce, Genoa

Cannibalism? On Appropriation In Art
National Gallery of Art, Warsaw

Rare Earth
Augarten Contemporary, Vienna

SELF: Portraits of Artists in Their Absence
National Academy Museum, New York

Beyond G(l)aze
KODE, Bergen


2014

I + I = I: When Collections Collide
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal

Grip friheten! Take Liberty!
The Museum of Contemporary Art Oslo

KUB Sammlungsschaufenster-Neuerwerbungen von Ai Weiwei bis Zobernig
Kunsthaus Bregenz

Genius Loci – Spirit of Place
14th Venice Biennale of Architecture, Venice

Trace: Performance and its Documents
Queenslands Art Gallery, Brisbane

Beyond and Between
Leeum Samsung Museum, Seoul

All The Best Artists Are My Friends (Part 1)
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City

Damage Control: Art and Destruction Since 1950
Kunsthaus Graz

Ceramix: Ceramic art from Gauguin to Schütte
Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht


2013

When Now Is Minimal: The Unknown Side of the Sammlung Goetz
Mueseion, Bolzano

German Pavillon, 55th Venice Biennale, Venice

China China
Punchuk Art Centre, Kiev

Taiping Tianguo: A History of Possible Encounters. Ai Weiwei, Frog King Kwok, Tehching Hsieh, and Martin Wong in New York
NUS Museum, Singapore

SALT Beyonglu, Istanbul

More Real? Art in the Age of Truthiness
Minneapolis Institute of Arts


2012

Arsenale 2012
Ukrainian Biennale of Contemporary Art, Kiev

More Real? Art in the Age of Truthiness
Site Santa Fe

The Art of Deceleration: Motion and Rest in Art from Caspar David Friedrich to Ai Weiwei
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg

No Borders
Arnolfini, Bristol

Lifelike
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, travelled to:
New Orleans Museum of Art

Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


2011

The Magic of Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art
GI Holtegaard, Holte

I Promise to Love You
Kunsthal Rotterdam

Staging Action: Performance in Photography Since 1960
Museum of Modern Art, New York

Die Letzte Freiheit: Von den Pionieren der Land-Art der 1960er Jahre bis zur Natur im Cyberspace
Ludwig Museum im Deutschherrenhaus, Koblenz

MMK 1991–2011: 20 Jahre Gegenwart
Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main

Vermessung der Welt: Heterotopien und Wissensräume in der Kunst
Kunsthaus Graz

Shanshui
Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne

Prospect 2011
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Staging Action: Performance in Photography Since 1960
Museum of Modern Art, New York

Taking a Stance: 8 Critical Attitudes in Chinese and Durch Architecture and Design
Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam


2010

29th São Paulo Biennial

12th Venice Biennale of Architecture

Passages: Travels in Hyperspace
LABoral Centro de Arte y Creacion Industrial, Gijon

The Big Bang
White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney

Une idée, une Forme, un Être-Poesie/ Politique du corporel
Migros Museum, Zurich

The Flower of May
Gwangju Museum of Art and Kunsthalle Gwangju

Taking a Stance: 8 Critical Attitudes in Chinese and Dutch Architecture and Design
Today Art Museum, Beijing, travelled to:
OCAT Art & Design Gallery, Shenzhen;
Durch Culture Center, Shanghai

Regionale 10
Liezen

Presidio Habitats
Presidio, San Francisco

The Problem of Asia
Chalk Horse, Sydney

Marcel Duchamp and the Forestay Waterfall
Davel 14, Cully

Lost and Found
neugerriemschneider, Berlin

Rem(a)inders
Galleria Continua, Beijing

Acconci Studio + Ai Weiwei: A Collaborative Project
Para/Site Art Space, Hong Kong

Until Now: Collecting the New (1960–2010)
Target Gallery, Minneapolis

Taking a Stance, 8 Critical Attitudes in Chinese and Dutch Architecture and Design
Dutch Culture Center, Shanghai Expo, travelled to:
National Art Museum of China, Beijing

Radical Conceptual
Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main

Contemplating the Void
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

Other Than Beauty
Friedman Benda Gallery, New York


2009

Beg, Borrow and Steal
Rubell Family Collection, Miami

Fascination with the Foreign: China - Japan - Europe
The Hetjens Museum, Dusseldorf

Garbage
After Gallery, projectroom, Moscow

Attitude
Shit-art Center, Zhengzhou

Pete and Repeat – the works from the Zabludowicz Collection
176, London

Void of Memory
Kimusa of Platform 2009, Seoul

Fairytale
Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herliya

I want to talk to you
T.art Center, Beijing

The Big World: Recent Art from China
Chicago Cultural Center

United Technologies
Lismore Castle

The Making of Art
Kunsthalle Schirn, Frankfurt/Main

Action – Camera: Beijing Performance Photography
Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Vancouver

Summer Group Show
Friedman Benda Gallery, New York


2008

Earthquake
Art Channel, Beijing

China: Construction / Deconstruction – Chinese Contemporary Art
Museu de Arte de São Paolo

Out there: Architecture Beyond Building
Biennale Arcitecture, 11th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice

Liverpool Biennial International 08: Made Up
Tate Liverpool

Super Fengshui: UCCA Site Commissions
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing

Reconstruction  # 3. The Artists Playground
Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire

China Power Station: Part III
Musee d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg City

Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary
Museum of Arts and Design, New York

Hypallage –The Post-Modern Mode of Contemporary Chinese Art
OCT Art & Design Gallery, Shenzhen

Half-Life of a Dream – Contemporary Chinese Art from the Logan Collection
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Selections from the Hara Museum's Permanent Collection
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo

China. The City exp(l)osed
Institut Francais d'Architecture & du Patrimoine, Paris

Map Games: Dynamic of change
Today Art Museum, Beijing, travelled to:
Center for Contemporary Arts (CAOS), Terni, 2009

China Gold – Chinese Contemporary Art
Musée Maillol, Paris

Interval of Silence
Red Star Gallery, Beijing

Body Media
Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai

Delirious Beijing
PKM Gallery, Beijing

Community of Tastes
Iberia Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing

New Vista – The Phenomenon of Post-Tradition in Contemporary Art
White Space Gallery, Beijing

Body Media
Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing

Red Aside: Chinese Contemporary Art of the Sigg Collection
Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona

The Real Thing. Contemporary Art from China
Institut Valencia d'Art Modern (IVAM), Valencia


2007

A Vista of Perspectives
Sixth Shenzhen Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal

Origin Point: Star Star Group. Retrospective Exhibition
Today Art Museum, Beijing

EI – Entity Identity – Beijing Series. Western Concepts – Chinese Drafts
Stedelijk Museums' Hertogenbosch, MB 's Hertogenbosch

Fortunate Objects: Selections from the Ella Fontanals Cisneros Collection
CIFO – Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Miami

Inspired by China – Contemporary Furnituremakers Explore Chinese Traditions
Museum of Fort Lauderdale

China Now
Cobra Museum, Amsterdam

Get It Louder
SOHO Shangdu, Beijing

Something New Pussycat
Klara Wallner Galerie, Berlin

Energies – Synergy
Foundation De 11 Lijnen, Oudenburg

Chinese Video: Chord Changes in the Megalopolis
Morono Kiang Gallery, Los Angeles

documenta 12, Kassel

Contemporary Art Exhibitions of Kogo Art Space
Kogo Art Space, Hangzhou

Metamorphosis: The Generation of Transformation in Chinese Contemporary Art
Tampere Art Museum

Thermocline of Art. New Asian Waves
ZKM - Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe

Art from China – Collection Uli Sigg
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro

China Welcomes you... Desires, Struggles, New Identities
Kunsthaus Graz

The Year of the Golden Pig – Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection
Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Cork University College, Cork

Money
Beijing Today Gallery, Beijing

Forged Realities
Universal Studios, Beijing

The Real Thing: Contemporary Art from China
Tate Liverpool

We are the future
2nd Moskow Biennial of Contemporary Art, Art Centre Winzavod

Branded and on Display
Ulrich Museum of Art, Kansas State University, Wichita, travelled to:
Kannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Champaign;
Salt Lake City Art Center, travelled to:
Scottdale Museum of Contemporary Art, 2008;
Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, 2008

A Continuous Dialogue
Galleria Continua, San Gimignano

What about sculpture? 
Chambers Fine Art, New York


2006

Art in Motion – Chinese Contemporary Art meets BMW Art Cars
Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai

This Is Not For You – Sculptural Discourses
Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna

Detours. Tactical Approaches to Urbanization in China
Eric Arthur Gallery, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto

China now. Faszination einer Weltveränderung
Sammlung Essl, Kunst der Gegenwart, Klosterneubur

Mahjong – Chinesische Gegenwartskunst aus der Sammlung Sigg
Hamburger Kunsthalle, travelled to:
Kunstmuseum Bern;
Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, 2008;
University of California, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, 2008;
The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, 2008

MoCA Envisage / Entry Gate: Chinese Aesthetics of Heterogeneity
Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai

The 5th Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

Zones of Contact
15th Biennial of Sydney

Territorial. Ai Weiwei und Serge Spitzer
Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt/Main

Altered, Stitched and Gathered
P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York

China Power Station I
Serpentine Gallery, London

Herzog & de Meuron. No 250. Eine Ausstellung
Haus der Kunst, Munich

Fill in the Blanks
China Art Archives & Warehouse, Beijing

Busan Biennial 2006
Busan Museum of Modern Art, Busan

Cityscapes 'Beijing Welcomes You'. Ein Stadtmodell von Lu Hao sowie Fotografien von Ai Weiwei
Kunsthaus Hamburg

A Continuous Dialogue
Galleria Continua, Beijing

Inspired by China – Contemporary Furnituremakers Explore Chinese Traditions
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem

China Contemporary. Architecture, Art and Visual Culture
Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam

Black and Blue
Robert Miller Gallery, New York

Antique Modernity – Breaking Traditions
Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, New York

2006 Beaufort Outside
Museum of Modern Art, Oostende


2005

The 2nd Guangzhou Triennial
Guangdong Museum of Art,

Misleading Trails
Altgeld Gallery, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, travelled to:
University of North Texas Art Gallery, Denton;
Charlotte and Philip Hanes Art Gallery, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem;
Fine Arts Gallery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville;
Boyden Gallery, St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, 2005;
Schick Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, 2005;
Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, 2005

Regeneration. Contemporary Chinese Art from China and the US
Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, travelled to:
University Art Gallery, University of California San Diego, La Jolla;
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe;
Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, 2006

Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China
Seattle Art Museum, travelled to:
Victoria and Albert Museum, London;
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, 2006;
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 2006;
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 2006

Xianfeng! Beeldhouwkunst von de Chinese avant-garde / Chinese Avant-Garde Sculpture

Museum Beelden aan Zee, Scheveninge

Convergence at E116'/N40
Platform China Contemporary Art Institute, Beijing

A Strange Heaven – Contemporary Chinese Photography
Tennis Palace Art Museum, Helsinki

1st Monpellier Biennial of Chinese Contemporary Art

Cina. Prospettive d'Arte Contemporanea / China: As Seen by Contemporary Chinese Artists
Provincia di Milano, Spazio Oberdan, Milan

Herzog & de Meuron. An Exhibition
Tate Modern, London

No 250. An Exhibition. Beauty and Waste in the Architecture of Herzog & de Meuron

Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam


2004

Silknet – Emerging Chinese Artists

Galerie Urs Meile Beijing-Lucerne

Persona3
China Art Archives & Warehouse, Beijing

Le Printemps de Chine
CRAC ALSAC, Altkirch

Regeneration. Contemporary Chinese Art from China and the US
David Winton Bell Gallery, List Art Center Brown University, Providence, travelled to:
Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg;
Jean Paul Slusser Gallery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Piss Off
Museum of New Art, Pontiac

The 9th International Architecture Exhibition
The Venice Biennial

Misleading Trails
China Art Archives & Warehouse, Beijing

On the Edge – Contemporary Chinese Photography & Video
Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, New York

Chinese Object: Dreams & Obsessions
Salvatore Ferragamo Gallery, New York

Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China
Museum of Contemporary Art Printemps Chicago and The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, travelled to:
International Center of Photography, New York

Modern Style in East Asia
Beijing Tokyo Art Projects

Herzog & de Meuron. No 250. Eine Ausstellung
Schaulager, Basel


2003

New Zone – Chinese Art
Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw

A Strange Heaven. Contemporary Chinese Photography
Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague

Junction. Chinese Contemporary Architecture of Art
Lianyang Architecture Art Museum, Shanghai


2002

Cement – Marginal Space in Contemporary Art
Chambers Fine Art, New York

China – Tradition und Moderne
Museum Ludwig Galerie Oberhausen

Art from a Changing World
Ludwig Forum for International Art, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Hoevikodden

1st Guangzhou Triennale 2002
Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou


2001

Take Part II
Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Lucerne

Tu Mu. Young Chinese Architecture
Aedes Galerie, Berlin

Take Part I
Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Lucerne


2000

Fuck off
East Link Gallery, Shanghai

Portraits, Figures, Couples and Groups
Biz Art, Shanghai

Our Chinese Friends
ACC Galerie and Galerie der Bauhaus-Universität (in collaboration with Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne), Weimar


1999

Innovations Part I
China Art Archives & Warehouse, Beijing

d'Apertutto
La Biennale di Venezia, 48. Esposizione Internationale d'Arte, Venice

Modern China Art Foundation Collection
Caermersklooster - Provinciaal Centrum voor Kunst en Cultuur, Ghent

Concepts, Colors and Passions
China Art Archives & Warehouse, Beijing


1998

Double Kitsch: Painters from China
Max Protetch, New York


1997

A Point of Contact. Korean, Chinese, Japanese Contemporary Art
Daegu Art & Culture Hall


1996

Begegnung mit China
Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen


1995

Configura 2 - Dialog der Kulturen
Angermuseum, Galerie am Fischmarkt, Erfurt

Change-Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition
Goteborg Museum


1993

Chinese Contemporary Art – The Stars 15 Years
Tokyo Gallery


1989

The Stars: Ten Years, Hanart Gallery, Hongkong, travelled to:
Hanart Gallery, Taipei


1987

The Star at Harvard: Chinese Dissident Art
Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, Harvard University, Cambridge

Avant-Garde Chinese Art
Albany University Art Museum, New York


1986

Seven Chinese Artists
Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco

Avant-Garde Chinese Art
Vassar College Gallery, Poughkeepsie

China's New Expression
Municipal Gallery, New York


1980

The second Star Exhibition
National Art Museum of China, Beijing


1979

The first Star Exhibition, outside the National Art Museum of China, Beijing

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Monographie

H. W. Holzwarth, ed., Ai Weiwei, Köln: Taschen, 2016

M. Kataoka, C. Merewether & K. Brougher, Ai Weiwei: According to What?, Munich: Prestel, 2012

H. U. Obrist, K. Smith & B. Fibicher, Ai Weiwei, New York: Phaidon Press, 2009


Other

R.C. Collard, et al., Futuros Abundantes. Abundant Futures, exh. cat., Madrid: TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary / Turner, 2023

D. Buchart, et al., Ai Weiwei: In Search of Humanity, exh. cat., Vienna: Albertina Modern, 2022

A. Weiwei, Ai Weiwei: 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows. A Memoir, New York: Crown, 2021

H. U. Obrist, Ai Weiwei: Wo ist die Revolution?, exh. cat., Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf; Munich: Prestel, 2019

N. Baume, D. S. Palmer & K. Stathopulou, Ai Weiwei. Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, New York: Public Art Fund, 2019

J.F. Chougnet, et al., Ai Weiwei. Fan-Tan, exh. cat., The Mucem, Marseille; Paris: Manuella Èditions, 2018

A. Budak, P. Pakesch & E. de Waal, Kneaded Knowledge. The Language of Cermaics, exh. cat., Prague: National Gallery Prague, 2017

A. Galansino, ed., Ai Weiwei: Libero, exh. cat., Palazzo Strozzi, Florence; Milan: Giunti Editore, 2017

N. Egan, L. McQuiston & J. Tancock, #AiWeiwei, exh. cat., Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Photography, 2017

R. Marhieu, Ai Weiwei, ER Xi, Air de jeux, exh. cat., Paris: le cherche midi, 2016

T. Marlow, et al., Ai Weiwei, exh. cat., London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2015

T. Eller, et al., Ai Weiwei – Evidence, exh. cat., Gropius Bau, Berlin; Munich: Prestel, 2014

U. Stahel & D. Janser, eds., Ai Weiwei – Interlacing, exh. cat., Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur; Gottingen: Steidl, 2011

Y. Dziewior, Ai Weiwei. Art | Architecture, exh. cat., Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz; Köln: Walther König, 2011

C. Klein, Ai Weiwei: Architecture, Cologne: Daab Media, 2010

J. Bingham, et al., Ai Weiwei: Sunflower Seeds, exh. cat., London: Tate, 2010

P. Tinari, et al., Ai Weiwei: Dropping the Urn, Ceramic Works, 5000 BCE – 2010 CE, exh. cat., Arcadia University Art Gallery, Philadelphia; Beijing: Office for Discourse Engineering, 2010

R. M. Buergel, Ai Weiwei: Barely Something, exh. cat., Duisburg: Museum DKM, 2010

M. Siemons & A. Weiwei, Ai Weiwei: So Sorry, exh. cat., Haus der Kunst, Munich; Munich: Prestel, 2009

H. U. Obrist & E. O. Foster, eds., Ai Weiwei. Ways Beyond Art, Ivorypress: Madrid, 2009

K. Lee, J. Shin, eds., Ai Weiwei, exh. cat., Seoul: Gallery Hyundai, 2008

Videos


Selected Press


The Art Newspaper January 2023

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art March 2022

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Artnet February 2022

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ArtReview January 2022

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Frankfurter Rundschau November 2021

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The Guardian October 2021

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Harper’s Bazaar Germany September 2021

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Spike Magazine Summer 2021

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ABC June 2021

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Connaissance des Arts June 2021

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Independent 13 May 2021

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Welt am Sonntag May 2019

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The New York Times August 2016

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Financial Times Weekend September 2015

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