Photo by Adam Grossberg/KQED.
A notorious former prison off of San Francisco’s coast will be the site of Ai Weiwei’s latest exhibition, “@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz,” opening September 27. The renowned Chinese artist — who has served time behind bars in his native country for the politically outspoken content of his work — has been working remotely on the site-specific project in a transcontinental collaboration between Beijing and San Francisco with curator Cheryl Haines. Because Ai Weiwei is currently on house arrest for tax evasion in Beijing, the project took three years of planning and nine months of making with the help of many volunteers. He will personally never see the work.
The magnum opus of “@Large” features 176 Lego portraits of political prisoners laid out flatly in a building with a floor the size of a football field. The work is composed of over one million Lego pieces that form the pixelated faces of dissidents past and present, including Edward Snowden, Boris Pavlovich Belousov, Shin Suk-jav and Roza Tuletaeva. While Alcatraz is a major tourist destination year round, previously inaccessible parts of the island — like the former psych ward and prison hospital — will be utilized for the show, which is on view through April 27. Take a look at a few preview images below and stay tuned for more coverage next week.
Images via KQED.
Photo by Adam Grossberg/KQED.
Ai Weiwei with curator Cheryl Haines in Beijing. Photo by Jan Stürmann.
Photo by Jan Stürmann.
Photo by Jan Stürmann.
As of 2014, Contemporary artist and activist 
Ceramics is one of the most ancient industries on the planet, nearly 27,000 years old to be exact. While most of us think of pottery or decorative objects, a new exhibition at Bonnefanten Museum in the Netherlands aims to illustrate ceramic's staying power as a higher art form. Opening on October 16th, "Ceramix" will feature works by artists such as Matisse, Rodin, and Picasso, to more contemporary artists like Ai Weiwei, Jeff Koons, Luigi Alders, Jessica Harrison, and Katsuyo Aoki, who was featured in 
San Francisco’s 
For five years in a row, the open air exhibition "Sculpture in the City" has brought some of the best contemporary artists to the public in London. Opening this week on July 9th, this year's installment will feature new works by Ekkehard Altenburger, Bruce Beasley, Adam Chodzko, Ceal Floyer, Laura Ford, Damien Hirst, Shan Hur, Folkert de Jong, Sigalit Landau, Kris Martin, Keita Miyazaki, Tomoaki Suzuki, Xavier Veilhan, and Ai Weiwei. The exhibit merges the new with the old as their works are set against the city's most historic landmarks. Take a look at more photos of Sculpture in the City 2015 as it comes together, after the jump.