About the Book:

Focusing on the recent decade of art and activism by one of the most outspoken artists of our time, this edition provides TASCHEN’s previous Ai Weiwei monograph with a comprehensive update. Now exploring 40 years of work, the book ranges from the artist’s exile in ’80s New York, through sculptures based in Chinese traditions and craftsmanship after his return to China, to his latest works conceived in Europe: toy-brick mosaics, films, and installations championing human rights. This book is itself a historical document: initially produced as the first in-depth monograph in close collaboration with the artist during a time when he still couldn’t travel abroad, now the same team has reconvened to continue the story.

Countless images from Ai’s archives show the studio day-to-day, the artwork production, the political actions. They are accompanied by artist’s statements made especially for this book, and by three far-ranging essays: independent curator Roger M. Buergel and art historian Alfred Weidinger, who both worked with the artist on major exhibitions, discuss the work and its development in thematic detail, while long-time friend, the entrepreneur and collector Uli Sigg, delivers a personal portrait of the artist from two points in time.

About the Editor:

Hans Werner Holzwarth is a book designer and editor specializing in contemporary art and photography. His TASCHEN publications include the Collector’s Editions Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool, Albert Oehlen, Neo Rauch, Ai Weiwei, Beatriz Milhazes, Julian Schnabel, Georg Baselitz, Glenn Brown, the David Hockney SUMO A Bigger Book, as well as monographs such as the XXL-sized Jean-Michel Basquiat.