The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum (1 Brookings Drive;
kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu) officially reopens with a bang. Chinese artist and dissident
Ai Weiwei presents a major exhibition of work that spans the past twenty years of his career, some of which has never before been shown in the United States. Divided into two parts,
Bare Life and
Rupture, the show features monumental exhibitions such as
Forever Bicycles (2019) and
Through (2007-2008). The former is a commemorative arch built with Chinese-made bicycles, their carefully positioned tires lining up to create the image of telescoping lenses; the latter is an intersecting series of wooden pillars that pierce the surface of Qing Dynasty wooden tables. The work evokes China's own interrupted and intentionally erased history.
Ai Weiwei: Bare Life also includes sculptures, photographs, films and a triptych constructed of LEGO bricks. The show runs from September 28 to January 5.