21st Century Art 
7 August 2024
21st Century Art 
123

Ai Weiwei b.1957

Owl House

2010
glazed porcelain 16½ h × 11 w × 8¼ d in (42 × 28 × 21 cm)
estimate: $8,000–12,000
result: $8,190
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This work is a unique variant from the edition of 40.
provenance: Haines Gallery, San Francisco | Acquired from the previous in 2010 by the present owner
literature: Ai Weiwei at Blenheim Palace, Blenheim Art Foundation exhibition catalog, ppg. 76-77, 140 illustrate similar examples

This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.

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For the Birds

Ai Weiwei's Owl Houses

An Ai Weiwei Owl House installed at Presidio National Park. Photo: For-Site Foundation

Designed to suit the Western Screech Owl, Ai Weiwei’s series of Owl Houses were first created for his 2010 exhibition at San Francisco’s Haines Gallery. When the exhibition closed, ten of the Owl Houses were relocated to Presidio National Park, where they were part of Presidio Habitats, a year-long exhibition organized by the For-Site Foundation—and the first site-based art exhibition conceived for a national park. Additional participating artists included Mark Dion, Fritz Haeg, and Amy Lambert. Each porcelain Owl House is made using traditional Chinese methods and hand-painted in Jingdezhen with motifs associated with the Ming Dynasty.

Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.

Ai Weiwei

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