"A storied art material, synonymous with Venetian craftsmanship, history, and splendor, is facing unprecedented challenges amid the energy crisis in Europe. Venice’s Murano glass production has been deeply affected by the rapidly rising price for gas, which has forced most of the lagoon’s glassmakers to shut down their studios for varying periods." https://news.artnet.com/art-world/murano-glass-shutdowns-2187289
Chinese artist and activist ai weiwei presents his first institutional exhibition in los angeles with new and unseen work. on view at marciano art foundation until march 3, 2019 is his latest, ‘life cycle’ — a sculptural response to the global refugee crisis. the exhibition will present the iconic 2010 installation ‘sunflower seeds’ and the 2015 ‘spouts.’ the refugee crisis has seen the
Ai Weiwei – activist, artist, global citizen – recently exhibited at Lisson Gallery in London. One of the leading cultural figures of his generation, Weiwei has used his art and his voice as an artist to speak out against injustices around the world. His approach to art has been to combine conceptual creativity with craftsmanship, being neither defined by, nor attached to, any
Eine Ausstellung Ai Weiweis in seiner einstigen Berliner Wohnung gibt Einblicke in das Leben des chinesischen Künstlers in Deutschland - und verbindet Privates mit politischen Fragen
“Ai had the mischievous notion of mixing his phony (and real) auction acquisitions with pieces of his household furniture, ceramics, and stone reproductions of everyday objects: he had a CCTV camera and a takeout container rendered in marble, and a pair of handcuffs and an old iPhone were carved from hunks of jade.”
“These antique pieces, however, have not been formally examined by experts, and they are exhibited alongside Ai’s works that also play with ideas of authenticity: Marble Toilet Paper (2020), a sculpture in the shape of a soft toilet roll made of the hard marble, created in response to Covid-19 pandemic panic buying;”
“In a repurposed mahogany display case which once sat in the British Museum, Ai offers up a cabinet of curiosities: a roll of toilet paper and a takeaway box sculpted in gleaming white stone, a pair of handcuffs and anal beads carved out of jet-black jade.”
“Playfulness is so important – I think I am like a cat. Cats are always wondering. If you throw a paper ball to a cat, it can play for a whole day…. Life is a serious matter, but also ironic. When marble was used in the past, it had a monumental or memorialising status. Toilet paper disappeared from the shelves during the pandemic.
Ai Weiwei has launched a social media campaign in defence of freedom of press following the news of a recent high court ruling that overturned an earlier decision and judged in favor of allowing julian assange to be extradited to the US.