Ai Weiwei

Chinese artist, born 1957, son of a famous Chinese poet Ai Qing who was denounced by Communist authorities after the Cultural Revolution and forced into hard labor for 20 years. Weiwei spent a decade in New York between 1983 and 1993, learning English, studying art at Parsons and becoming heavily influenced by the New York art scene and its playful Postmodernism. He would become close friends with Allen Ginsberg who once met Ai Qing in China.

In 1993, Ai Weiwei returned to China and began a slow career as an artist. Strangely, he came to prominence as an architect after designing his own studio which was hailed by Western architecture critics. Weiwei claimed only one influence for this building: Wittgenstein and the one house the philosopher built for his sister. The studio was later destroyed by Chinese authorities in what was seen as political retribution. 

After the turn of the 21st century, Weiwei had become a very popular artist and architect. He collaborated with Herzog & deMeuron on the now iconic "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium.

His photography is known for being transgressive (breaking ancient pots, flipping off major world monuments) and playful. His sculpture is often marked by a social element exemplified best by his Sunflower Seeds project.

His philosophy on art can be examined in Ai Weiwei Speaks