Ai Weiwei's Monumental Installations Unite in Düsseldorf Retrospective

The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf is hosting a major retrospective of Ai Weiwei, featuring his most iconic installations from the past decade. Titled after the artist's quote "Everything is art. Everything is politics," the exhibition spans both museum venues: K20 and K21. At K20, visitors encounter Straight, comprising 164 tons of steel bars salvaged from a collapsed school building after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and Sunflower Seeds, a 650-square-meter installation of 100 tons of porcelain sunflower seeds first shown at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in 2010. At K21, the centerpiece is Life Cycle, a monumental bamboo sculpture depicting a rubber boat carrying migrants. Susanne Gaensheimer, director of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, emphasized Ai's alignment with Joseph Beuys' expanded concept of art, where political and artistic action are inseparable, making the exhibition particularly significant in Düsseldorf. The show runs until September 1, 2019.