Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei stands among today's most influential artists and is a fearless critic of protectionism, nationalism and exclusion. He is a tireless advocate for human rights through his multifaceted practice – which spans art, architecture, film and activism – that fuses traditional Chinese techniques with global aesthetics, politics and personal narrative. He continually questions power structures and addresses issues of censorship, displacement and freedom of expression. His studios are more than just workspaces – they are extensions of his thinking and creative process. The exhibition Five Working Spaces at Aedes presents studios in Beijing, Shanghai, Berlin and Montemor-o-Novo, near Lisbon. Designed, commissioned and used by Ai Weiwei himself, they reflect formative phases in his life and reveal the dialogue between artistic production and the built environment.

From Ai Weiwei's first studio in Longzhuashu, where the simple act of planting Danish grass completely changed the situation of bare concrete courtyard, to his underground Berlin workspace, a former brewery cellar reminiscent of his childhood exile in Xinjiang, each studio becomes a narrative space in its own right.

His long-term studio in Beijing's Caochangdi district, featured in Aedes' legendary exhibition TUMU Young Architecture from China in 2001, became a hub for large-scale installations. Later, the Zuoyou Studio, adapted from an industrial hall, was used until its sudden demolition by the authorities in 2018 - destroying not only the building but also many of the works stored inside. A similar fate befell his Malu Studio near Shanghai in 2011, which was torn down shortly after its completion.

The latest of these studios, located in rural Portugal, was built using traditional Chinese woodworking techniques - a testament to Ai Weiwei's ongoing engagement with craftsmanship and the cultural memory embedded in materials.

Opening: 23.5.2025, 6:30 pm