Last updated: 27 October 2026
Ai Weiwei is the Chinese artist and activist behind the 2010 Sunflower Seeds in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. Here you will find our take on his work, his 2026 shows, including Button Up! in Manchester, and the editions sold by UK galleries.
Our take on Ai Weiwei
Ai works across sculpture, installation, film and architecture, and his subjects are power, migration and censorship. “Understanding history goes hand in hand with standing up for truth and justice,” he says on Factory International’s page for his 2026 Manchester show.
UK audiences know him best for Sunflower Seeds, about eight million porcelain seed husks made by hand and spread across Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall from October 2010 to May 2011. Tate later acquired part of it, according to Tate.
In recent years he has turned to toy bricks, remaking paintings by Gauguin and Van Gogh in plastic. “I’m not interested in making very big things just for the sake of it,” he says, although Button Up! filled The Warehouse at Aviva Studios.
Ai Weiwei: the essentials
- Born in Beijing in 1957, according to Tate.
- Represented by Lisson Gallery, which describes him as “a global citizen”.
- Held a major exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2015 and is an Honorary Royal Academician.
- His Sunflower Seeds filled Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall from October 2010 to May 2011.
- Works across sculpture, installation, film and architecture, in porcelain, bronze, glass, buttons and toy bricks.
Ai Weiwei exhibitions
- Ai Weiwei: Aftershock, Palazzo Ardinghelli, MAXXI L’Aquila, Italy, 29 April to 6 September 2026.
- Ai Weiwei: Button Up!, Aviva Studios, Manchester, 2 July to 6 September 2026. Around 200 years of Chinese and British history, with an inflatable migrant boat and a reconstructed Ming dynasty temple.
- Solo show at Tang Contemporary Art, Singapore, 21 March to 2 May 2026.
- Lisson Gallery, London, 2025: toy-brick versions of Gauguin and Van Gogh, and F.U.C.K. (2024), buttons sewn onto Second World War stretchers.
Where to buy an Ai Weiwei edition
UK museum shops sell his editions. These were in stock when we checked:
- Sunflower Seed, 2024, £6,000: children’s toy bricks on a baseplate in a bespoke box, 38 x 38 cm (15 x 15 in), edition of 100 with a signed certificate, from the Tate shop.
- 3D Printing of My Left Hand, 2022, £15,000: aluminium, 15.7 x 30.2 x 8.5 cm (6.2 x 11.9 x 3.3 in), edition of 20 plus 2 artist’s proofs, signed certificate, from the Serpentine shop.
- Royal Academy editions: hand-painted catalogue dust jackets from his 2015 show at £7,000, and porcelain chrysanthemums at £14,000, sold through the RA Shop.
Ai Weiwei FAQs
Where can I see Ai Weiwei’s work in the UK?
His 2026 show Button Up! ran at Aviva Studios in Manchester until 6 September 2026. Tate holds part of Sunflower Seeds.
How much is an Ai Weiwei edition?
UK museum shops sell them from £6,000, for the Tate’s toy-brick Sunflower Seed (2024).
Which gallery represents Ai Weiwei?
Lisson Gallery, which has spaces in London, New York, Shanghai and elsewhere.
What was Sunflower Seeds?
About eight million handmade porcelain seed husks, shown in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall from October 2010 to May 2011.
More from CoolCuration
- Ha Chong-Hyun at Lisson review: another show at his London gallery.
- Frieze London review: where London’s big galleries show their artists.
- National Art Pass: discounts on big shows across the UK.
- Gifts for artists: our edit of presents for people who make things.
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Main image: Ai Weiwei in Porto Alegre, 2018. Photo: Luiz Munhoz / Fronteiras do Pensamento, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates and prices last checked: 27 October 2026.
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