Ai Weiwei is amongst the most influential and politically active living artists. He is known for challenging China’s government, advocating for freedom of speech and human rights. Merging conceptual rigor, political critique, and traditional Chinese craft, he challenges systems of authority, cultural amnesia, and injustice. He is internationally recognized for his activism, especially after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. His art has become a powerful form of political protest and resistance, making him a symbol of free expression in authoritarian regimes. Despite his activism, Ai’s legacy is still evident in Beijing, where he co-designed the Olympic “Bird’s Nest” stadium still visible to this day. He was featured in TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and received the Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award.

Featured in Mother Nature in the Bardo: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: Gold is cultural resistance cast in bronze and gold. Reimagining the twelve zodiac heads looted from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) in 1860 by Anglo-French force. Five of the twelve heads (dragon, dog, snake, ram, and rooster) were never recovered. Using references from the Qing dynasty Ai Weiwei completed the set to restore what history shattered.

When the Zodiac Heads tour began in 2011, Ai was detained by Chinese authorities for almost 3 months. Since then, the work has become one of the most recognized sculptural series of the 21st century. It was shown in more than 20 major institutions across Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia. It has been installed at the National Gallery of Victoria, Phoenix Art Museum, The Andy Warhol Museum, Martin-Gropius-Bau Berlin, and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, among many others.

His work is in the permanent collections of MoMA, LACMA, Tate, The Met, Guggenheim, Centre Pompidou, LACMA, and many others. He was featured multiple times in the Venice Biennale.