2021 Ai Weiwei - Set of 4 Cappuccino Cups

While designing the new illy Art Collection series, Ai Weiwei was inspired by the famous Colored Vases he made in 2006. Ancient Neolithic vases, whose appearance and function the artist radically altered by dipping them in industrial paint cans, portray the vital role that bold approaches to history, politics and tradition played in redefining culture.

With these desecrated everyday objects, Ai Weiwei renews works from the past and transforms them into contemporary works of art through the process of adoption and destruction. This move removes the historical and cultural value of the work, referring to the systematic destruction of history and culture that has continued in China from the Mao era to today's unfettered state capitalism.

2021 Ai Weiwei - Set of 4 Cappuccino Cups includes 4 limited edition cappuccino cups, specially designed by Ai Weiwei for the illy art collection series in 2021 .

A Matter of Perspective: When Appearances Deceive.

"Self-expression requires a reason, but self-expression actually requires a reason."

Considered one of the most influential global figures of recent years, Ai Weiwei reflects the complexity of society and the present through a critical quest for the often problematic connection between China and the West. It is not possible to describe the versatile personality of Ai Weiwei, born in Beijing in 1957, with a single word: conceptual artist, sculptor, painter, performer, photographer, architect and urban planner, collector, director (cinema, documentary, theater and opera), actor. , musician (singer and songwriter), author and broadcaster, blogger and selfie master, investigative journalist, human rights activist and dissident.