Ai Wei Wei’s ‘Heaven and Earth’ at lissongallery.com

Arrested and held by the police for 81 days in Beijing in 2011, politically outspoken artist Ai Wei Wei was eventually accused of tax evasion, charges which he fought in court.  Lisson Gallery is currently showcasing one of the several artistic responses Ai Wei Wei has made since, a nearly 7-hour long Henan Opera that recreates the court proceedings in language, “…couched in complex, obfuscating legalese and riven with dead ends.” (Lisson Gallery).  Pictured here is an image from New York Art Tours’ archive of Ai Wei Wei’s first artwork in response to his detention, an installation recreating scenes from his prison life that was on view at the Brooklyn Museum in 2014. (‘Heaven and Earth’ is on view at lissongallery.com through June 15th).

S.A.C.R.E.D., six dioramas in oxidized metal, wood, fiberglass, polystyrene and sticky tape, 2013.

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Merrily Kerr

Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education. For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine. Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)