'Ai Weiwei: Don Quixote' opens at MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y Leon
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, November 21, 2024


'Ai Weiwei: Don Quixote' opens at MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y Leon
Installation view.



LEON.- The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León is presenting Don Quixote, a sweeping survey of selected works produced over the last twenty years by the globally renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei (Beijing, 1957). The exhibition features more than forty installations, films, videos and pictures made of toy bricks. This is also the first in-depth showcase of Ai’s series of pieces made using this medium: nineteen works in which the artist uses forty colours to produce images that recreate masterpieces from art history or alter photographs culled from the media.

The exhibition title harks back to the artist’s childhood in the remote deserts of Xinjiang, China, recalling how a vividly illustrated edition of Don Quixote that belonged to his father, the poet Ai Qing, sparked his imagination. At the same time, the novel introduced him to a thought system other than the dialectical materialism in which he grew up, showing him that it was possible to construct an entire world of fantasy, even in stark contradiction to reality.

The show reflects Ai Weiwei’s major humanist concerns, from the refugee crisis and the defence of freedom of speech to what the artist himself calls the decline of humanitarianism, which comes through in much of his oeuvre.

Ai Weiwei freely uses readymades and objets trouvés, concepts that originated with Marcel Duchamp, which we find in works like Lotus (2016) and Olive Tree Roots (2021). He often works with traditional Chinese craftmanship—as in the two monumental pieces made of bamboo, Yuyi (2015) and Life Cycle (2008)—that transport us to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Along the exhibition itinerary, we also see how Ai translates linguistic tropes from the Chinese language into visual terms. One example is A Spring with Caomina (2019), which alludes to the image of an alpaca that has become a symbol of resistance against internet censorship.

Ai Weiwei. Don Quixote has been designed in collaboration with the artist exclusively for MUSAC, the only venue where it will be displayed. Its galleries, due to their size, can accommodate some of Ai Weiwei’s most monumental works. Such is the case of La Commedia Umana (The Human Comedy, 2017–21), which is being shown for the first time in a museum. Over eight metres tall, six metres wide, and weighing 2,700 kg, it is one of the largest Murano chandeliers ever made, consisting of around 2,000 pieces. La Commedia Umana reimagines the classic Venetian glass chandeliers and stems from the artist’s reflections on humanism and humanity, as well as his advocacy for freedom of expression. Refugee crises, the threat of current and future pandemics, and devastating global environmental changes fuel Ai Weiwei’s reflections on the human-nature interrelation and the uncertain future of humanity, ultimately redefining the balance between life and death.

Curator: Álvaro Rodríguez Fominaya.










Today's News

November 11, 2024

Di Donna Galleries opens 'Hallowed Ground: Tanguy, Lam, Penalba, Cárdenas'

V&A opens first major exhibition celebrating the 'Golden Age' of the Mughal Court

Almine Rech New York opens Visages, a group show

The Fine Art & Estate Auction comes to Turner Auctions + Appraisals on November 30

Hidden treasures unveiled: Iconic film stars of the 1950s and 1960s featured in new exhibition

The Royal Academy of Arts opens 'Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael: Florence, c. 1504'

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts opens new presentation of its Inuit art collection

'Ai Weiwei: Don Quixote' opens at MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y Leon

Museum Würth to show a comprehensive exhibition on Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Pace opens Loie Hollowell's first solo presentation in Southern California

Gagosian exhibits new paintings by Sabine Moritz in Beverly Hills

Kunstmuseum Ravensburg presents 'Walk This Way'

'Tom Thomson: North Star' exhibition travels to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery

Exquisite miniatures by Wes and Rachelle Siegrist at Lyman Allyn Art Museum

Young designers explore the body

Art Gallery of New South Wales presents first major solo exhibition of Nusra Latif Qureshi

Multidisciplinary team combines visual art, music, video, design, and technology in new exhibition

'Roee Rosen. The Kafka Companion to Wellness' opens at Kunstverein Hannover

Galerie-Peter-Sillem exhibits Anastasia Samoylova's latest series

Jonathan Gardner's fourth exhibition at Casey Kaplan opens in New York

moniquemeloche exhibits a new series of paintings by Jake Troyli

The National Gallery year ahead round up 2024 and 2025

Exhibition marks the centenary of Ivan Picelj's birth

Spin & Travel: The Creative Influence of Online Slots on Luggage Design

Building a Legacy: Sabeer Nelli's Evolution from Aspirations to Industry Leadership

Fresh Episodes, Exciting Plots-Watch the Best TV Shows Only on ZEE5




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful