Ai Weiwei at Mary Boone Gallery of New York

On January 7th, 2012 the Mary Boone Gallery of New York will open at its Chelsea location Sunflower Seeds, an Installation by world-renowned artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei.

Sunflower Seeds is on view at 541 West 24 Street through 4 February 2012. For further information, visit www.maryboonegallery.com.

The sunflower, with its destiny to follow the sun, became a common metaphor for The People during China’s Cultural Revolution. At the same time, the seeds of the flower provided sustenance at all levels of society, and the ubiquitous discarded husks provided evidence of an individual’s existence. Ai Weiwei demonstrates that a staggering quantity of individual seeds may produce a deceptively unified field. The work is a commentary on social, political and economic issues pertinent to contemporary China: the role of the individual versus the masses, and China’s long history of labor-intensive production and export.