Ai Weiwei - Cats (Red), 2022

Ai Weiwei - Cats (Red), 2022

Screenprint on Saunders Waterford 300gsm paper

Hand signed, dated, and numbered 116/150 by Ai Weiwei on the front. This print was originally published by Kettle's Yard - before it rapidly sold out.
Published by Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge; printed by Kip Gresham at The Print Studio, Cambridge
The print was editioned by master printer, Kip Gresham at The Print Studio, Cambridge for Kettle's Yard. It was made using an original drawing ‘cut’ into an acrylic sheet. The image is then reversed when printed.

It has been elegantly framed in a museum quality wood frame under UV plexiglass.
Measurements:
Framed:
14.25 by 16.5 by 1.5
Artwork (image)
7.5 inches (vertical) x 9 inches (horizontal)

Description from the publisher:
"Drawing has been fundamental to Ai Weiwei’s artistic practice from an early age. He also has a longstanding love of cats, and they appear frequently in the artist’s social media posts. Many cats used to roam his studio in Beijing. As part of the Kettle’s Yard exhibition, Ai’s ‘Cats wallpaper’ (2015) will be displayed in the Castle Street window. This artwork was originally exhibited as ‘Studio Cats’ in the exhibition Andy Warhol / Ai Weiwei at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, reflecting both artists’ mutual love of cats. For Kettle’s Yard, the drawing of Maple and Birch has been inserted among the other cats depicted on the wallpaper."

Quote from Ai Weiwei:
"I like cats very much because of their independent character, alertness and understanding of human beings; I have feelings approximating to reverence for them. Cats have been regarded as psychic animals since ancient times, no matter in China or ancient Greece. What’s even more interesting is that if a selfie of mine would be seen by 100 people, a cat photo would be seen by 1000 people. I believe that everyone can share this happiness.
Ai Weiwei."

About Ai Weiwei:
Ai Weiwei is renowned for making strong aesthetic statements that resonate with timely phenomena across today’s geopolitical world. From architecture to installations, social media to documentaries, Ai uses a wide range of mediums as expressions of new ways for his audiences to examine society and its values. Recent exhibitions include: Ai Weiwei: Resetting Memories at MARCO in Monterrey, Ai Weiwei: Bare Life at the Mildred Lane Kemper Museum in St. Louis, Ai Weiwei at the K20/K21 in Dusseldorf, and Good Fences Make Good Neighbors with the Public Art Fund in New York City.

Ai was born in Beijing in 1957 and currently resides and works in Berlin. Ai is the recipient of the 2015 Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International and the 2012 Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent