Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 10 works by Ai Weiwei in our catalogue
In short
He Xie (2011) is the Ai Weiwei painting that draws the most eyes; the original belongs to the Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Curitiba. After it, the eye goes to Works from Juazeiro do Norte (2018) and Sunflower Seeds (2010). Among the 10 works of Ai Weiwei in our catalog, these 10 are the most famous, each a unique original presented with its year, its museum and the reason it endures.
One thousand individual crabs, hand-crafted from porcelain, form the body of this work. The medium carries deep historical weight; in various Chinese dynasties, artists utilized jade, bamboo, or onyx to sculpt similar crustaceans. Here, the choice of porcelain connects the delicate, fragile nature of the material to the political fragility of the artist's situation.
In the quiet, rhythmic dance of a chisel against grain, one finds the profound intersection of global activism and local devotion. Works from Juazeiro do Norte is not merely a collection of sculptures; it is a living tapestry of faith, memory, and social commentary. Created in 2018 through a soulful collaboration between the world-renowned contemporary artist Ai Weiwei and the skilled artisans of a community in Brazil, these wooden carvings…
Sunflower Seeds consists of millions of individually handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds. The work was fabricated in the city of Jingdezhen in northern Jiangxi Province, a region historically famous for its kilns and the production of imperial porcelain. The sunflower seeds were made over a period of two years by 1600 mostly women artisans in a cottage-industry setting, rather than in a large-scale factory. Each individual seed, while seemingly identical to…
In the quiet, monochromatic depths of Ai Weiwei’s Study of Perspective - Berne, we find ourselves transported to a streetscape that feels simultaneously intimate and vast. This evocative work, captured in 2003, serves as a profound meditation on the geometry of human existence within the modern cityscape. At first glance, the eye is drawn to the rhythmic interplay of light and shadow, where the starkness of black and white strips…
Following Ai Weiwei’s 81 days under secret detention, he was released on bail with strict restrictions. His passport was confiscated, he was barred from leaving Beijing for a year, and he was told to avoid speaking to the media. In addition to those restrictions, Ai noticed more than twenty surveillance cameras were installed all around his studio house in Caochangdi, Beijing. Camera with Plinth monumentalizes in marble the surveillance camera,…
The four subjects that come back most often in these originals, each with its finest example.
The 3 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Ai Weiwei | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Oscar Niemeyer Museum |
Curitiba | 4 | He Xie, Works from Juazeiro do Norte, Sunflower Seeds |
 MOMA - Museum of Modern Art |
New York City | 2 | Study of Perspective - Berne, Study of Perspective - Hong Kong |
 UCCA Center for Contemporary Art |
Beijing | 1 | Ai Weiwei, Swatter |
Pick a decade to see the original that defines it.
In the quiet, monochromatic depths of Ai Weiwei’s Study of Perspective - Berne, we find ourselves transported to a streetscape that feels simultaneously intimate and vast. This evocative work, captured in 2003, serves as a profound meditation on the geometry of human existence within the modern cityscape. At first glance, the eye is drawn to the rhythmic interplay of light and shadow, where the starkness of black and white strips…
One thousand individual crabs, hand-crafted from porcelain, form the body of this work. The medium carries deep historical weight; in various Chinese dynasties, artists utilized jade, bamboo, or onyx to sculpt similar crustaceans. Here, the choice of porcelain connects the delicate, fragile nature of the material to the political fragility of the artist's situation.
He Xie (2011), Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Curitiba. Works from Juazeiro do Norte (2018) and Sunflower Seeds (2010) come next.
54 years old: He Xie dates from 2011, and Ai Weiwei was born in 1957.
He Xie, Works from Juazeiro do Norte, Sunflower Seeds, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, Stools, Study of Perspective - Berne, Study of Perspective - Hong Kong, Ai Weiwei, Swatter, Bang and Camera with Plint. The ranking above gives each one's year and museum.
Our catalog holds 10 works by Ai Weiwei, dated from 1995 to 2018.
Mostly in Oscar Niemeyer Museum (Curitiba), MOMA - Museum of Modern Art (New York City) and UCCA Center for Contemporary Art (Beijing). The museum table above lists them all.
In 2010s: 6 of the 10 works on this page were made then, He Xie among them.
On this page, the earliest is Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995) and the latest Works from Juazeiro do Norte (2018).
Contemporary art, judging by the originals on this page.
He Xie, Works from Juazeiro do Norte and Sunflower Seeds: the Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Curitiba holds 4 of the works on this page.
Ai Weiwei, born in Beijing in 1957, stands as one of the most recognizable and controversial figures in contemporary Chinese art. His upbringing amidst the stark realities of rural northwest China—marked by his father’s exile under Mao Zedong’s regime—shaped his worldview and fueled a lifelong commitment to artistic expression as a vehicle for social critique. From an early age, Weiwei demonstrated an innate fascination with sculpture and design, honing his skills through formal education at Tsinghua University before embarking on a career that would propel him into the global spotlight. His life has been a continuous dialogue between the personal and the political, where the boundaries of art and activism are perpetually blurred.
Weiwei’s initial artistic endeavors focused on minimalist sculptural forms—often utilizing industrial materials like steel and concrete—reflecting a deliberate rejection of traditional Chinese aesthetics. This stylistic choice was not merely aesthetic; it symbolized his desire to challenge established conventions and forge his own path within the evolving landscape of Chinese art. Influenced by the conceptual rigor of artists such as Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt, he embraced principles that prioritized ideas over visual ornamentation. His early works explored themes of fragmentation and repetition, mirroring deep-seated anxieties about societal uniformity and governmental control—a preoccupation that would become the heartbeat of his entire artistic practice.
The trajectory of Weiwei’s career shifted dramatically in the late 1990s as he began engaging in activism against corruption within China's education system. This transformation was catalyzed by the devastating "Tofu Dreg Schools" scandal, where a massive earthquake exposed systemic negligence and bribery in school construction. Galvanized by this tragedy, Weiwei utilized his artistic platform to expose injustices and amplify marginalized voices, turning his studio into a site of investigation and protest. His work transitioned from purely formal explorations into profound social investigations, often involving the collection of data, names, and evidence to hold power to account.
This period marked the rise of his monumental installations that command global attention. One of his most iconic achievements, Sunflower Seeds (2010), featured millions of handcrafted porcelain seeds spread across the floor of the Tate Modern. This work served as a powerful metaphor for the relationship between the individual and the masses, reflecting on themes of mass production, Chinese craftsmanship, and the weight of history. Through such large-scale installations, he forces the viewer to confront the sheer scale of human existence and the fragility of the individual within a vast, often indifferent, political machine.
Beyond his physical sculptures, Ai Weiwei has mastered the use of photography and digital media to document contemporary struggles. His ability to weave together the personal narrative with global crises—such as the refugee crisis or the erosion of freedom of speech—has cemented his status as a global icon of resistance. His work does not merely exist in galleries; it exists in the streets, on social media, and in the very conscience of the international community.
The historical significance of Ai Weiwei lies in his refusal to remain silent. His career serves as a testament to the power of the artist as a witness. Through his diverse body of work, we see:
