Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist and activist known for sculpture, installation, architecture, film, and social criticism. For his controversial work and outspoken Internet communications, Ai was detained in April 2011, released on bail after 81 days, and he remains under intense state surveillance. Coinciding with the travelling exhibition "Ai Weiwei: According to What?" opening at the Brooklyn Museum in April 2014, this unique volume presents Ai's thought-provoking musings on a wide range of topics, from his name and his family to the role of art and artists in modern society to his conflicting emotions about his homeland, relating his compelling story alongside striking images of his provocative works. AUTHOR: Spanish-born Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz Fisac is an independent art curator and critic as well as an author. Her work has also been featured in publications including The Art Newspaper, The European, The Observer, Beaux Arts, Architectural Digest Spain,La Reppublica, and the Spanish, Italian, German, and Mexican editions of Vogue. She has curated exhibitions on Balthus, Botero, Wim Wenders, Santiago Calatrava, and Frank Stella and has written on subjects that range from Balthus, Fernando Botero, and Wim Wenders to Mahatma Gandhi and Satyajit Ray. She wrote 'Santiago Calatrava' for Assouline in 2013.
