When I first heard that the Seattle Art Museum was presenting an exhibition of the works of Ai Weiwei at three locations this year, I was excited about the opportunity to see more than just an occasional piece in a gallery or museum or on the internet. Though I admit, I contributed my first IG post about a show of his that I saw in Chicago.
Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei is a major exhibition of over 100 works, curated by FOONG Pingby, and is in its final weeks at SAM, closing September 7, 2025. If you are in or near Seattle, I highly recommend that you see the show. If you’re like me, you’ll probably want to see it more than once. Friends who have seen the show expressed their need to see it multiple times because there is so much to absorb.
The exhibition was organized by the Seattle Art Museum and is their first exhibition to feature one artist at the museum’s three locations. In addition to the downtown location, Water Lilies is being shown at the Volunteer Park location, which will be on view through March 15, 2026. Inspired by Monet’s Water Lilies at MoMA in New York, it is comprised of some 650,000 Lego bricks and spans nearly 50 feet. Scheduled to be installed by November 15, 2025, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, the twelve bronze heads, will be on view in the Olympic Sculpture Park through October 2027.
At the downtown location, the exhibition takes you on a journey beginning with the artist’s early years in New York. These early works set the stage for Ai’s ongoing exploration of art, history, politics, cultural questioning, challenge and change. His works are loaded with symbolism and inspire deep thought and reflection. Beautiful antique furniture is deconstructed, changing its original purpose from a finely crafted piece of furniture, now reconfigured to a new form as sculpture. Viewers enter a darkened gallery devoted to the Animals of the Zodiac, which are mounted so that one can walk among them and view the highly rendered details. The exhibition also includes a re-creation of the room Ai was confined to while under arrest in China. More than one gallery features works using Lego bricks, including ones devoted to The Mueller Report. Several videos are showing in a projection room: Cockroach, 2000, Human Flow, 2017, and Coronation, 2020. Shorter videos are included throughout the exhibition.
This is a rare and unique opportunity to see and experience this wide range of works by this important international artist; the exhibition itself is impressive for all it entails, in every aspect. In addition to the individual works themselves, the curation and the installation are at the highest level.
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- Water Lilies, 2002, LEGO bricks, 105 1/2″ x 602 3/4″ Seattle Asian Art Museum photo courtesy AF
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- Gilt Bronze, edition of 4. photo courtesy Douglas Drake
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- photo courtesy Douglas Drake
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- Hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds photo courtesy AF
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- Mueller Report Summary, Lego Bricks. Upper section. photo courtesy AF
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- Mueller Report Summary, Lego Bricks. Lower section. photo courtesy AF
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- The Animal that looks like a Llama but is really an Alpaca, 2015, wallpaper. photo courtesy AF
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- The Animal that looks like a Llama but is really a Alpaca, 2015, wallpaper. photo courtesy AF
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- Water Lilies, 2002, LEGO bricks, 105 1/2″ x 602 3/4″ Seattle Asian Art Museum
Tom,
Thank you for drawing attention to this showing of what is obviously a powerful and diverse body of work. Talk about found object in Hanging Man for simplicity in making a statement, my intrigue in his work extends to see his Mueller Report w Legos, the Bicycles, and what look to be magnificent Water Lillies, live!
David
You’re going to love seeing this comprehensive exhibition.