Ai Weiwei "Absent" Exhibition @ Taipei Fine Art Museum

Ai Weiwei, following his recent promotion to the top of ArtReview magazine’s annual Power 100 list, strikes again with an exhibition curated by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. This solo show houses a collection of 21 sets of works dating from 1983 to the present, including a set of 100 pieces from his New York and Beijing East Village periods, and a multimedia foray in installation, furniture, sculpture, ceramics, video and more. His centerpiece for the show, the Forever Bicycles, showcases a stunning arch consisting of an intricate assembly of 1200 Forever brand bicycles. Accompanying this is the Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, a politically-charged interpretation of the Chinese Zodiac done in bronze. Titled “Ai Weiwei Absent,” the artist references the limitations slapped onto him by the Chinese government. Having only recently been released from a harrowing state detention, Ai Weiwei is currently barred from travel. No stranger to controversy, Ai Weiwei’s outcry against the Chinese government and his championing for civil rights, both through his art and voice, has at once skyrocketed his acclaim and brought him severe trouble with the authorities.

Taipei Fine Art Museum
No.181., Zhongshan North Road Sec.3
Zhongshan District, Taipei
Taiwan