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Ai Weiwei’s first-ever India exhibition to open in Delhi

The exhibition will feature key works from across the Chinese artist's practice, including his signature toy-brick compositions

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jan 11, 2026 11:26 AM IST

Courtesy: Nature Morte gallery

One of the most influential voices in contemporary art, Ai Weiwei is recognised for his engagement with politics and society through critical inquiries. Known for pushing the boundaries between art and activism, the Chinese dissident artist’s first solo exhibition in India will be held later this month at Nature Morte gallery in Delhi. “This is my first exhibition in India… although there are only a dozen of my artworks, it covers several key points that trace more than 20 years — and almost 30 years — of my creative activity,” said the artist in a statement released.

Courtesy: Nature Morte gallery

To take place from January 15 to February 22, the exhibition will bring “together a focused selection of works across mediums”. This will include his celebrated toy-brick compositions, where he interlocks the bricks to create monumental pixel-like surfaces that reference art history, political events, portraits and moments of collective memory. The works on view will include Surfing (After Hokusai) that reimagines Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai’s acclaimed 1831 print The Great Wave, one of the most recognisable images in art history, as well as Water Lilies, which is a representation of Claude Monet’s iconic paintings in the series.

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Aparajita Jain, co-director of Nature Morte, noted, “Bringing Ai’s work to India isn’t about creating a spectacle — for us, it is about urgency. His work speaks to the present moment with total clarity: history, power, borders, memory. India is a place where these questions are lived, not abstract, and this exhibition invites that conversation without flinching.”

The exhibition will also mark how Ai Weiwei’s practice has continued to bridge ancient history and contemporary realities, using varied materials and mediums to address urgent global concerns and sociopolitical issues. If Stone Axes Painted White features neolithic stone axes, Porcelain Pillar with Refugee Motif addresses concerns regarding migration. The recent works to be showcased includes F.U.C.K. that uses buttons, and Whitewashed Remnants of History of the State of Emerging Future Works, which is reportedly being exhibited for the first time. “Presenting his first solo show in India feels both overdue and essential, especially now, when the politics of images, movement, and belonging are shaping lives everywhere — including here,” added Peter Nagy, co-director of Nature Morte.

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More