As a Collateral Event of the 55th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia, Zuecca Projects will present an exhibition of new works by Ai Weiwei, from 29 May – 15 September 2013. The artist’s only major new solo show in 2013, it will be presented across two locations in Venice: the Zitelle complex, home of Zuecca Projects, and the church of Sant’Antonin. Work by Ai Weiwei will also be on display elsewhere in the Venice Biennale as part of a group exhibition at the German Pavilion.
Curated by Maurizio Bortolotti, the exhibition will comprise landmark works showing Ai Weiwei at the height of his artistic and polemic powers. In Zuecca will be seen an expanded version of the artist’s acclaimed sculptural installation Straight. First exhibited as part of his 2012 acclaimed survey show at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC., Straight is formed from multiple tons of steel rebar recovered from the collapsed schools in which more than five thousand children perished during the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China.
To be revealed during the opening week of the Venice Biennale, Ai Weiwei has specially conceived a new work for the Sant’Antonin church location. This will function as a dialogue between the artist and the existing architecture, and as a contemporary Chinese response to the city of Venice.
The exhibition with Zuecca Projects represents a new chapter in the long-standing historical relationship – founded on trade, as well as religious and cultural exchange – that exists between China and Venice. The relationship will acquire fresh immediacy in light of the artist’s interpretation of Contemporary China within the context of the city.
Ai Weiwei was born in 1957 in Beijing, China, where he lives and works. Together with Herzog & de Meuron, he created the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London, and is the recipient of an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Institute of British Architects. Previous solo exhibitions include Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC (2012)
Ai Weiwei – Disposition Collateral Event of the 55th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia – 29 May —15 September 2013 Giudecca & Sant’Antonin, Venice
Photos: Courtesy Ai Weiwei