If any of you are lucky enough to be in Venice for the 55th Biennale you will be able to visit the Ai Weiwei exhibition ‘Disposition’ a major new solo show curated by Maurizio Bortolotti.
Disposition will be presented across two locations in the floating city: at the Zitelle complex, home of Zuecca Projects and the church of Sant’Antonin, and will feature some of his key works as well as the debut for some bold new pieces.
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One of the highlights is bound to be the monumental work ‘Straight’. This dramatic piece is made up of tons of steel bars from the collapsed schools where five thousand children died during the Chinese Sichuan earthquake in 2008. Another rather dramatic new work will be presented in the opening week of the Venice Biennale which has been thoughtfully created especially for the Sant’Antonin church. The work again questions the ever present contradictions in China as it develops as an aggressively capitalist one party state.
Ai Weiwei is well known for his courageous work and stance which has placed him as a critic and victim of the full force of the Chinese authorities. The ‘Disposition’ exhibition is the latest chapter in the long running historical relationship between Venice and China. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with London’sLisson Gallery, which has represented and worked closely with Ai Weiwei since 2010, presenting renowned solo exhibitions of his work at its London and Milan locations.
