“I’m not a person who has a clear plan,” Ai Weiwei said. And yet, he observed, flowing “like a leaf on the river” can lead to unexpected destinations.  

In this video, the acclaimed dissident artist ruminates about his life, his approach to art-making, and his exhibition at the Kemper Art Museum, on view September 28, 2019–January 5, 2020. Ai Weiwei: Bare Life collects dozens of artworks created over the last two decades, including several never before exhibited in the United States, as well as Bombs (2019), a monumental new wallpaper created for the museum’s Saligman Family Atrium.