Ai Weiwei

Biography

Born in Beijing in 1957, Ai Weiwei is one of China's leading contemporary art figures, with a practice that spans art-making, curating, architectural design, and publishing. The son of famed poet Ai Qing, Ai studied at the prestigious Beijing Film Academy, only to drop out one year later and become a founding member of the artist collaborative known as the Stars Group.

The self-proclaimed "most interviewed artist in China," has become an international celebrity known for questioning authority--not an uncomplicated act in China--and challenging tradition. His reputation as a provocateur and rebel is supported by such unconventional works as 'Fairytale' (2007), for which he shipped 1,001 Chinese tourists to a small town in Germany for an international art fair. He has also photographed himself smashing a 2,000-year-old Han Dynasty urn and flicking off the White House.

Ai's interest in design and architecture lead him to create his architectural firm, Fake Design, and culminated in his collaboration with Herzog & de Meron on the 2008 Chinese Olympic Stadium also known as "The Bird’s Nest."