Active not only as an artist, Ai Weiwei is also a philosopher, political activist, and architect. His early life until he went to university was marked by poverty because his father, the poet Ai Qing, was exiled to Xinjiang in northwest China due to the government’s laogai “reform through labor” system and then the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Ai moved to the United States in 1981, studying contemporary art in New York and beginning to work as an artist. After returning to China in 1993, he established a studio in Caochangdi, Beijing, and devoted himself to the development of contemporary art in China through architectural projects, curating exhibitions, and publications. Held at Mori Art Museum in 2009, Ai Weiwei: According to What? was the artist’s first comprehensive solo exhibition, and subsequently toured to five museums in North America. He has since held solo shows at major art museums around the world and appeared in numerous group shows and international exhibitions.