Henri Matisse (1869-1954) is celebrated as one of the towering artistic geniuses of the 20th century. Over fifty years after his death, the work of an artist who pursued the dream of “an art of balance, of purity and serenity” remains among the most beguiling and desirable of the modernist period. This fi erce interested was demonstrated in 2007, when the art collection of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent was auctioned and Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose sold for a then-record 32 million euros, smashing through Christie’s pre-auction estimates.

Despite this extraordinary interest, Matisse the man can seem distant, elusive. During his most successful period of 1906 – 1917, he inhabited the very epicentre of the notorious bohemian crowd which gathered at Gertrude Stein’s Parisian salon on Saturday nights to debate her large collection of avant-garde artworks. Yet even then, Matisse was seen as inhibited, conventional, standing out for his conservative dress sense and strict bourgeois work routine.

His work embodies similar contradictions: initially derided by the art establishment as a fauve (or wild beast), he was later heralded as an inheritor to the French classical tradition, proffering elegant but mysterious statements such as “I do not paint things, I only paint the difference between things”. So what factors shaped the career of a man whose art continues to have such a grip on the minds of critics and collectors?

Having grown up in an industrial town in northern France, the young Matisse yearned for colour, and found an escape into the “paradise” of painting when he was struck down with appendicitis and his mother gave him his fi rst set of art materials. By 1892, to the consternation of his father, Matisse had abandoned a career as a lawyer and was studying under Gustave Moreau, whose studio helped give rise to the Fauvist movement. Matisse declared Fauvism to be a reaction against Neo-Impressionism, most particularly that of pointillist Georges Seurat, whom the Fauves saw as treating images as “a mere sensation of the retina”. Nonetheless, Matisse learnt critical lessons from impressionism. The work of Paul Cézanne taught him that a painting could be structured by the relationship between its constituent colours. Matisse therefore set out to create an art which would condense colours and sensation into solid, enduring forms refl ective of “a higher ideal of beauty”.

Matisse’s oeuvre is currently undergoing a wave of critical reassessment, prompted in part by a recent biography which paints the supposedly conventional Matisse in an entirely different light. in sharp contrast to the serenity of his work, Hillary Spurling’s The Unknown Matisse (2000) reveals a Matisse wracked by emotional complexities. Indeed, Matisse was drawn into a world of scandal and intrigue during the notorious Humbert affair, which saw the fi nancial empire of prolifi c confi dence trickster Thérèse Humbert dragged into the public spotlight, fascinating France and prompting suicides and resignations across the country. Matisse was associated with Humbert through his mother-in-law, her housekeeper, arousing the suspicion that he was involved and a raid on his studio by the police. The fresh insights and new perspectives generated by such new biographical material have lifted the lid on Matisse the man, causing critics to consider his work through the lenses of those lesser-known pieces which shed light on Matisse’s studio practice.

Now a stunning double-sided drawing is being showcased at Meller Merceux, offering a tantalising glimpse into the workings of Matisse’s creative mind. A freely-rendered record of inspiration, the life drawings bring viewers into the unique environment where Matisse conceived his masterpieces. Recently acquired from a private collection in New York and registered at the Matisse Archive in Paris, this pencil and paper piece depicts a nude model on the front side, and two sketches of a man’s head on the rear. The woman has her arms raised and is twisting her back away to her left, suggesting the unconscious sensuality of a relaxed and intimate moment. Such drawings were often a form of preparation for Matisse’s paintings or sculptures, uninhibited records of a mood or emotion which would allow him infuse even his most stylised works with the immediacy of human interaction. Matisse has always been the subject of sustained interest from collectors, and the competitiveness of recent auctions of his work suggest that his desirability will only increase in the future. This was demonstrated in 2010 when his bronze sculpture Nu de dos, 4 état (Back IV) sold for a record-breaking $48.8 million at Christie’s. As historians and collectors continue their evaluation of the enigma of Matisse’s genius, it seems more than likely that works such as these life drawings will be the source of new insights into his uniquely visionary mind.

written by DR. THOMAS SLINGSBY

‘Behind the Scenes’ is a brand new The Art Collector magazine. section of As staff we are continually asked what we actually do in the art gallery, as part of the Art World. This ‘photologue,’ hopes to show collectors some of the things we get up to. We journey ‘behind the scenes’ with some of the most important art collections and museums the nation has to offer. Based in Oxfordshire, Meller Merceux is in the fortunate position of being able to do archival research at world
-class treasuries housed just a stone’s throw
away from its exhibition spaces.

And where better to start than the oldest museum in the world? The Western Art Print Room at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum houses a stunning collection of European prints and drawings, with works ranging from the 1400s to the present. Our visit to the Print Room saw Meller Merceux staff do due diligence on works by Henri Matisse, Stanley Spencer, John Piper and Graham Sutherland. With our recent acquisition of the Matisse drawings we were able to compare our purchase against other Matisse drawings. We could evaluate the visual langage of this modern master first hand. This is why it is so important to be able to have access to this sort of work.

First-hand archival research is an indispensable way of honing understanding of the nuanced mark-making which evidences an artist’s signature style. It was fascinating to see Spencer’s tender acts of portraiture and studies for larger works, alongside Piper’s revealing architectural studies. Visits such as these mean as staff we are able to analyse the works of these important artists which are exhibited in our galleries within a context of
wider research.

We look forward to keeping readers up-to-date with our work in the Art World in this section of the magazine. See the full feature here.

Pablo Picasso's Still Life with Mandolin (1924) is one of the works included in Picasso and Modern British Art. © Succession Picasso / DACS 2011 © Collection Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

We are still coming to terms with Pablo Picasso’s influence upon generations of British artists, a phenomenon explored by a major new exhibition at Tate Britain. Dr Thomas Slingsby reports…

As the most prominent and influential artistic innovator of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso allures and inspires audiences all over the world. His images constitute some of the most imaginative and surprising advances in artistic form ever seen, presenting entirely new perspectives on the rich diversity of human experience.

Having introduced the art world to a succession of beautiful and beguiling new ideas, Picasso occupies an unprecedented historical position. His fellow artists were moved to create their own responses to the challenges he laid down, so perpetuating a global cultural legacy which historians and curators have still to fully understand.

From 15th February a stunning new exhibition at Tate Britain will allow audiences to assess his influence for themselves, presenting the rare opportunity to view seminal works by Picasso alongside those of the British artists who took up the challenge of incorporating his innovations into their own practises.

Since being introduced to British audiences as a part of Roger Fry’s famous post-impressionist exhibitions in London, Picasso has had a major impact in Britain. He was immediately recognised by 1912 review in The Times as being “by nature extremely inventive,” but while his Cubist works were at first mistaken for being “analytical” and “unsympathetic,” observers soon realised that Cubism was a revolutionary way of representing depth and perspective whilst experimenting with the simplified geometric forms which were such an important aspect of Cezanne’s influence.

From the neo-classical sensuality of Henry Moore to the meditative abstraction of Ben Nicholson, British artists realised that the new forms of beauty Picasso had discovered opened the way to new modes of expression that could be creatively adapted to their personal and cultural interests. Ben Nicholson, who met Picasso on a 1932 trip to Paris, produced works like Au Chat Botté (1932) which bear the direct influence of the cubist still-life, while on a deeper level, demonstrating a recognition that Picasso’s rupture with realism permitted access to a world of non-representative harmony, where colour and composition could be freely arranged to stimulate a subtle range of aesthetic experiences.

Although Picasso was never a systematic surrealist, he soon moved beyond cubism and began to create works which summon forth the associative logic of dreaming, something evident in pieces such as The Three Dancers (1925), which is one of the centrepieces of the Tate’s exhibition. The application of this uncanny logic to British landscape became a key tool for artists such as Graham Sutherland, who, also featured at the Tate, was one of several who found the influence of Picasso decisive as they sought a visual language with which to process the psychic damage inflicted by two World Wars.

In 1938 Picasso’s friend the British artist Roland Penrose organised a triumphant touring exhibition of Guernica (1937). This work is an oblique yet deeply penetrative response to the bombing of the eponymous Basque town during the Spanish civil war. In spite of its obvious political currency, Guernica is another example of the Spaniard’s capacity to evade easy categorisation. The ambiguous, shadowy space of the canvas, filled with mournful and dislocated human forms, attained a universal appeal, speaking of the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War but also more widely, of the human condition itself. The tour brought Picasso to public attention on a mass level, demonstrating his ability to provoke both adulation and controversy amongst wide swathes of the British public. By the end of World War 2, Picasso’s image was recognisable even to those with no interest in art. Picasso and Modern British Art fittingly charts how Picasso’s outspoken and flamboyant presence gave rise to the idea of the artist as celebrity in the popular imagination, a fame which was demonstrated by his hugely popular 1960 exhibition at the Tate.

Picasso and Modern British Art spans 70 years of Picasso’s influence, and the youngest of the exhibited artists is David Hockney (b. 1937), who reportedly visited the Tate’s 1960 Picasso exhibition eight times. His work often plays on the tension between naturalism and abstraction, drawing viewers into ambiguous spaces that feel three-dimensional and yet contain large areas of bright, flat colour. In this way Hockney allows his compositions to follow particular lines of interest rather than aiming for the spatial verisimilitude of the camera, a characteristic which Hockey is said to have acquired from Picasso. The Tate’s exhibition presents some of Hockney’s homages to Picasso, which include The Blue Guitar, etchings by David Hockney who was inspired by Wallace Stevens who was inspired by Pablo Picasso (1977), alongside works from the 1960 exhibition which inspired the Yorkshire-man’s life-long dialogue with the Spaniard.

Inviting visitors into the behind-the-scenes world of Picasso’s career, the exhibition also highlights the role of influential collectors such as Penrose and Douglas Cooper, both of whom played critical roles in shaping the Spanish artist’s reputation in the United Kingdom. As a gallery specialising in modernist and contemporary art, Meller Merceux has had the privilege of having many works by Picasso and his followers such as Moore pass through its exhibition spaces. To coincide with this landmark reassessment of Picasso’s life and work, Meller Merceux is thrilled to showcase recently acquired Picasso pieces at its Galleries.

Picasso said that he sought to create work that would “live its own life,” and the Tate’s new exhibition provides yet more evidence of the continued power of his vivacious work to provoke pleasure and debate. Picasso and Modern British Art will undoubtedly encourage the public to play its own part in the fascinating story of his ongoing reassessment, and we warmly invite visitors to inspect our newly-acquired Picasso works for themselves.

Taryn Simon: A Living Man Declared Dead And Other Chapters I – XVIII, Tate Modern. © Taryn Simon.

How are contemporary artists using their cameras to document the political and social landscape of our time? Kyle Reeves gives us some answers…

Photography has often been separated from or subordinated to other art forms and it has taken time for this visual medium to be rightfully integrated into the history of art. This issue has not escaped the attention of the Tate who have recently embraced photography in a new and more meaningful way. The appointment of Simon Baker, as its first curator in this field, signifies an important turning point in attitude. The institution now seems to be making up for lost time, with a whole host of new photographic exhibitions being made available for public viewing. Here I look at two interesting collections that form part of a wider dialogue about the value of photographic art and its use as a documentary medium.

Taryn Simon’s A Living Man Declared Dead And Other Chapters I – XVIII was compiled over a four year period, during which time the artist travelled around the world chronicling 18 generational histories through an elaborate assembly of image and text. Each chapter of the exhibition is focused around a single person whose bloodline has been traced backwards and forwards to include every living ascendant and descendant. The individuals at the heart of every chapter all have a strangely arresting personal story that is often imbued with a dark social or political context. Subjects of the work include the eponymous living man declared dead in India, an Iraqi man employed as the body double of Saddam Hussein’s son and a participant in a long-standing blood feud in Brazil. Other chapters reference cases of Bosnian genocide, poaching of albino people in Tanzania, children of thalidomide pregnancies and Filipinos put on public display in America.

Each chapter is constructed using three distinct sections that must be read from left to right. The first section features a series of portraits, the second a panel of narrative text and the third a footnote of images that act as a form of photographic evidence for the story. By presenting the visual and the textual in tandem with one another, as two interconnected parts of one whole, Simon’s work does not conform to the familiar idiom that ‘a great photograph should speak for itself’. Instead, the photographs, all staged with the same lighting conditions and neutral backdrop with figures facing forwards and hands crossed in their laps, would lose much of their meaning if not read in conjunction with the text.

Simon’s methods and formal presentation produces artwork that is, by its very nature, an investigation into and exploration of modern society. By focusing on how the external forces of territory, power, circumstance and religion can collide with the internal forces of psychological and physical inheritance, she uncovers cases of land appropriation, injustice, violence, exploitation, religious devotion and cultural conflict. Revealing what is often kept secret and illuminating places, people and events that we tend not to be familiar with Simon has constructed a truly gripping and intriguing collection. Yet it evades simple categorisation, marrying together elements of historical enquiry, documentary and journalism into her art photography.

The capacity for photographic art to transcend narrow parameters of definition is something that is explored more explicitly in another of the Tate’s current exhibitions. Entitled Photography – New Documentary Forms, this show focuses on raising questions about the role of documentary photography today and explores how contemporary artists are using their cameras to construct new ways of seeing, recording and understanding the world in which we live. Featuring the work of Guy Tillim, Boris Mikhailov, Akram Zaatari, Luc Delahaye and Mitch Epstein the collection ranges from elections in the Congo and everyday life in pre- and post-Soviet Ukraine to studio photography in Beirut, conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and power production in the United States.

While subjects like these are covered by news reporters on a daily basis, artists are now trying to find new ways of recording them by using a very different language of representation. Where the media bombards us with images that have been acquired quickly and in large numbers, the artists in this exhibition have focused on taking images of quality that aim to illustrate the complexity of world events and to stimulate reflection on the way in which we view them. Delahaye and Epstein have all produced large scale, wide format, intensely detailed images that have more in common with the history of landscape painting and museum aesthetics than they do with the photographic snapshots that we see in everyday news reportage. They therefore encourage the viewer to look closely and to engage with the images in a much more meaningful way. Artistically, Mikhailov takes his documentary style of photography the furthest with two intentionally paired series that are each accompanied by poetic text. The first series Red is a complex installation that collages together a multitude of images that explore the pervasiveness of the colour red in Communist Ukraine. The second series At Dusk deals with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Documenting street life, the title refers to the time of day that the images were taken, emphasised by a hand painted blue cobalt wash that conveys a literal and symbolic portrayal of Ukraine’s twilight.

The artists seem aware of the pitfalls that come with the claim that any image can faithfully record a ‘true’ and accurate representation of reality. They seek to highlight the way in which images can be used to distort understanding and stress how false a single representation can be. Tillim does this by juxtaposing images of the electorate that depict both support and protest. Zataari does this by focusing on individuals claiming that ‘diversity is the most important factor in resisting misrepresentation’. Drawing upon the archive of studio photographer Hashem El Madani, he examines the faces and attitudes of ordinary people in Lebanon from the 1940s to the 1950s. Though the images have been compiled into categories that reflect and accentuate the social and political context in which the sitters lived, the importance of the individual is never lost. References are made to their unique, personal stories with the photographer writing about one man that ‘as he was effeminate I would give him poses I usually chose for women’. Another reads ‘these are negatives that were scratched because of a jealous husband … who never let his wife out by herself … he was upset to know that she came to be photographed in my studio without telling him … years later, after she burnt herself to death to escape her misery, he came back to me asking for enlargements of those photographs’.

By using their artistic faculties to re-frame the effects of social and political conditions on both people and landscapes, these five artists have produced socially relevant documentary that goes beyond the sensationalism, and often overtly political aims, of rolling news without making any claims to be wholly objective. In an age where we face a continuous barrage of information about our treatment of each other and the planet, this exhibition provides an evocative and emotionally powerfully alternative mode of recording that makes you want to stop, look and take note.

Born in Bristol, Hirst first came to public attention in London in 1988 when he curated Freeze, an exhibition of his own work and that of his fellow Goldsmiths College students staged in a disused warehouse in London’s Docklands. The show attracted the attention of some of the world’s leading collectors and soon Hirst began exhibiting in more established spaces such as the ICA and the Serpentine Gallery. In 1991, a direct commission from Charles Saatchi allowed Hirst to produce one of his most iconic works: The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living – a tiger shark suspended in a vitrine of formaldehyde. Saatchi bought the piece for £50,000 and held it in his collection until 2004, when it was sold on to an American collector for approximately £7m. This increase in value illustrates how successful Hirst’s work can be as an investment. Hirst went on to win the prestigious Turner Prize in 1995, the same year that he had a solo show at New York’s Gagosian Gallery. Two years later, back in London, the Royal Academy staged the iconic Sensation! exhibition, which prominently  featured a number of Hirst’s pieces. His productive relationship with Saatchi seemed set to continue into the new century until a falling out following a 2003 show at London’s County Hall. Hirst subsequently distanced himself from the event and criticised Saatchi for trying to dictate taste with purchasing power. This was arguably the catalyst for Hirst’s increasing intervention in the art market and the background to his desire to shake up established relations between artists, dealers and buyers. This strategy was fully implemented in 2008, when Hirst made one of the most audacious moves of his career. Beautiful Inside My Head Forever brought together an entirely new collection of works to be exhibited and auctioned by Sotheby’s London. It included examples from Hirst’s most popular series – spot, spin and butterfly paintings; medicine, pill and instrument cabinets, as well as his iconic vitrines. Yet what was unprecedented in this case was that he sold his work directly from an auction house, thereby bypassing his representatives at the Gagosian and White Cube galleries. Sotheby’s also courted controversy over the auction. It effectively broke a 250-year tradition of not operating in the primary market – in other words not selling directly on behalf of any individual artist. Hirst’s intention was to open the market up, wanting, as he put it, “to cut out the galleries, and take a whole load of box-fresh pieces straight to market, no strings, highest bidder wins. Bang!” The two-day sale – an exclusive event which Meller Merceux had VIP tickets for was a staggering success. All 218 works were sold for a total of £111m, making it a landmark event not only in Hirst’s career but a watershed moment for the art world as a whole. This triumph of the sale was all the more impressive considering that it occurred on the same day that the American banking giant Lehman Brothers collapsed, effectively signalling the start of the global economic crisis. The fact that many lots were sold for record-breaking prices seems almost unbelievable in this context, yet this demonstrates the resilience of the art market and the enduring popularity of Hirst.

It is with reference to all these circumstances that Meller Merceux presents the unique original drawing. Executed on the night of the 15th September, the drawing is signed and dedicated by Hirst across a double page spread. Three self-referential sketches – depicting the outline of a shark, the luminous skull of For the Love of God (a £15m sculpture consisting of a platinum human skull covered with more than 8,000 diamonds), and a butterfly – here become emblems representing some the artist’s most recognisable works. The nature of the dedication – to Don, a security man – also indicates Hirst’s delight at the success of the Sotheby’s events. The catalogue, which has been beautifully framed, is not only an exceptionally rare instance of the artists’ hand, but a document that neatly captures Hirst’s audacious attitude to his art.

Hirst’s cultural currency is continuing to rise. Alberto Mugrabi, a major private dealer places Hirst alongside figures such as Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. In fact, Hirst’s reputation and value will almost certainly skyrocket in the context of upcoming events. Between April and September 2012, Tate Modern will present the most comprehensive survey of Hirst’s work ever held in the UK. The monumental show will form a central part of the Tate’s celebration of the Olympic Games, at a time when the eyes of the world will be focused on London. It is rumoured that part of the exhibition will focus exclusively on the impact of the Beautiful Inside My Head Forever auction. In addition to the Tate retrospective, there is another long-term project that will raise the artist’s profile and cause his value to soar even higher. Hirst himself is currently developing Toddington Manor, a Gothic mansion in Gloucestershire that he purchased for £3m in 2005. The 300-roomed, Grade-I listed building will host Hirst’s growing collection of his own work and that of artists he collects. The £10m restoration of the house and grounds is a life’s work for Hirst, so it could be said that under miles of scaffolding, the ever ambitious artist is not only constructing what will be the world’s largest private art museum, but is also building what may yet prove to be his most enduring legacy.

written by DR. JOHN ROBERTS

MM: What started your interest in art?
Collector: Trying to link the artistic image with the political or social events of the time or maybe the experiences of the artist. In other words, understanding the thought behind the creation.

MM: Did you enjoy art at school?
Collector: Yes, though for me, this developed into more of an interest in engineering drawings and
architecture.

MM: When was the moment that you realised that you loved art and wanted to be a collector?
Collector: When I could afford the pieces I really enjoyed!

MM: What was your first art purchase?
Collector: Local images by an artist from the North Norfolk coast.

MM: How do you arrange your collection, do you follow particular themes or ideas?
Collector: No particular themes, though I enjoy abstract images. Above all, it must be aesthetically pleasing and it’s wonderful to discover or explore the artist’s wider thoughts behind the composition.

MM: What is your most exciting purchase and why?
Collector: My Picasso, because of its beauty and also somewhat historic value.

MM: What do you feel about art investment?
Collector: I want to do more, but less for my own financial benefit than for what I can pass down to my children for them to appreciate in the form of the art itself and potential financial reward. My hope is that as my collection grows certain items can be traded in order to collect others.

MM: What would your advice be to any would-be collector who is about to make their first purchase?
Collector: Go with your heart!

MM: What work are you looking for next?
Collector: Exciting pieces from the primary market, up-and-coming artists and I would like to
acquire at least one piece of fine art every year. I’d love to find a nice piece of Pop Art that excites me as much as some of Roy Lichtenstein’s work.

Above: A wonderful naive representation of Dali’s wife Gala approaching their Spanish castle. A rare lithograph signed by the artist. Number 1 of the edition.

With record sales and a new museum, Salvador Dalí is on the rise. What does this mean for collectors?

Within both popular culture and the investment art market there has been a marked rise in interest surrounding Salvador Dalí. This is reflected in the recent opening of a new museum in St. Petersburg, Florida that is dedicated to his life and works. More than twice the size of its predecessor and costing over 36 million dollars to build it offers the most extensive collection of Dalí’s work outside of his native Spain. It is home to 96 of his oil paintings including 7 of the 18 masterworks such as The Hallucinogenic Torreador and The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Representing work from every stage of Dalí’s career, the museum also holds a further 2000 artworks ranging from the likes of graphics, prints and drawings to watercolours, photographs and sculptures. Having received well over 100, 000 visitors since its opening in January of this year, it appears that international appreciation of his legacy is growing in tandem with it’s more vociferous celebration and promotion in public arenas.

On the private art market Dalí is also doing astoundingly well. Recent sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s have seen new record prices for his work. On February 10th 2011 Sotheby’s held a marathon evening sale, auctioned off an extensive private collection of twentieth century art. Entitled Looking Closely, the sum total of the sales was 93.5 million pounds. Dalí’s Portrait de Paul Eluard eventually sold for 13.5 million pounds smashing its pre-sale estimate by 10 million pounds. Not only was it the most expensive piece of surrealist work to be sold, it also set a new record for the highest price ever to be paid for a single piece of Dalí’s work. A technically masterful piece, which includes much of the personal and Freudian imagery that characterises Dalí’s eccentric surrealist style, it is no surprise that there was a bidding war to secure it. The piece is made more significant given the fact that Eluard’s wife Gala later deserted her husband to become both the love of Dalí’s life and his greatest muse. The importance of this sale was heightened by the fact that less than 24 hours earlier Christie’s had set a new record for Dalí’s work in their sale of Honey is sweeter than blood to the Gala-Dalí Foundation for 4.7 million pounds.

Such huge sales figures represent not only the general buoyancy of the art market but also, more specifically, increased demand for Dalí’s work. As surrealist artists have only recently begun to be widely accepted and appreciated by the art establishment their reputations have not yet had the opportunity to reach the dizzying heights of other modern masters. These sales therefore seem to indicate the beginning of an upwards spiral for Dalí collectors. Since more and more pieces are being taken up by museums those remaining on the market are becoming ever rarer and more valuable.

This is extremely exciting news given how fortunate we have been in recently securing five rare works by the man himself. They are all highly collectable pieces, with one being a proof and the other four being the first lithograph in their limited edition series. With No. 1’s often going to museums we were absolutely delighted to acquire these pieces, especially as they are in pristine condition, having never been on the market before. Given what a great investment opportunity they present it is not surprising that three of these pieces have already been snapped up. If you would also like to seize this exciting investment opportunity, we advise that you move quickly as these will not be on the open market for long.

China’s most famous contemporary artist disappeared at the hands of the Chinese authorities on 3rd April 2011. Kyle Reeves looks to find out why…

The international fame and popularity of artist-activist Ai Weiwei – most well known for his recent installation of Sunflower Seeds in the Tate Modern’s great Turbine Hall – has continued to grow since his disappearance at the hands of Chinese authorities on the 3rd April.  As a fearless, outspoken social commentator and critic of the Chinese government, it is not surprising that serious attempts are now being made to silence him.

In previous years, Ai has shown an outstanding devotion to his personal blog making thousands of posts as part of a concerted effort to stimulate social change in China. As a man who firmly believes that every individual has both the capacity and responsibility to produce a new reality, he is not one to sit back and wait for others to make things happen. The success of his blog did not go unnoticed by the Chinese authorities who chose to shut down the site in 2009, at a time when it was receiving 100, 000 visitors a day.

This official act sharply contrasts with the value that others have attributed to Ai’s work. Renowned art critic Hans Ulrich Obrist has called the blog ‘one of the greatest social sculptures of our time’ and MIT Press has deemed its content well worthy of publication, offering the first English translation in February 2011. A fascinating read, the book divulges Ai’s opinions on a wide range of affairs including art, architecture, music, love, government, modernity, Chinese culture and the Olympics.

Faced with the oppression of one of its most celebrated contemporary figures, the international art world has responded with continued calls for Ai’s release and planned exhibitions of his work are still going ahead. In London alone, there are currently two displays of his work on show to the public: one at the Lisson Gallery and the other at Somerset House.

At the Lisson Gallery, a major survey of Ai’s work is being held across both Bell Street spaces until the 16th July 2011. Offering a selection of key works from the last six years such as Chang’an Boulevard, Coffin, Coloured Vases and Surveillance Camera, the series prompts viewers to reflect on the state of modern society and the sacrifices being made in the name of ‘progress’. Ai is keen to draw attention to the scale of the demolition and construction process that is currently taking place in China as well as the loss of traditional culture and history that is its unfortunate by-product. In the video work Beijing 2003 he attempted to make a visual map of the city, recording every street that cars could reach – by the time the work was complete many of the streets had already been altered or disappeared altogether. In Chang’an Boulevard Ai again strove to provide a documentary record of the city’s changing face. A little over 10 hours long the video records the entire stretch of road, which between its east and west perimeters stands at 43km. Seemingly impassive and objective, the video offers a striking contrast to the vitriolic subjectivity found in Ai’s blog. Here he verbalises an extremely critical reading of the frenetic development of China’s urban centres, which he perceives to be achievable only at the cost of human, ethical and cultural concerns:

‘All cities in C Nation [China] inherently maintain a faithful record of the scars left by authoritarianism. Unlike actual ruins, which are caused by rational, ordered destruction, these cities are elegies on frenzied architectural activity. Their creators and their landlords are victims of their own idiocy and behaviour, and as a result of their non-existent conscience and lack of common decency, cities are thus humiliated.’

The pieces Marble Doors and Coffin transcribe Ai’s feelings more subtly. The former, consisting of a random heap of doors that have been reproduced in marble, acts as an enduring monument to the thousands of buildings that have been thoughtlessly demolished in preparation for the construction of China’s new megacities. The latter coffin-cum-table is a beautifully crafted piece, using Qing Dynasty methods that require no glue, nails or screws. Made from salvaged wood taken from a temple – destroyed as a consequence of modern building development – it poetically speaks of the death of ancient value systems and histories. Its peaked roof and crooked alignment suggests that these new developments and designs are far from perfect and offer poor substitutes when compared with past mastery. Coloured Vases – a series in which Han Dynasty vases are dipped in Japanese industrial paint – further highlights the tension between old and new. A provocative gesture, it remains to be seen how this act will affect the value of the items. Will they become even more prized now that they may be considered of both historical and contemporary significance?

In light of Ai’s detainment, Surveillance Camera, a direct model of its subject constructed in marble, is a particularly apt piece for display. It is an obvious symbol of the control that China’s police forces continue to assert over its citizens, watching and assessing their every movement. Yet its positioning, directly facing a live security camera outside the gallery, is also a spooky reminder that it is not only the Chinese whose daily activities remain under close scrutiny.

The exhibition at Somerset House, entitled Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, features twelve sculptures of traditional Chinese Zodiac Heads. Arranged in a semi-circle around the fountain, they are magnified examples of the pieces that were originally designed by the Manchu Emperor Quianlong for the Yuanming Yuan Palace in Beijing. During the Second Opium War in 1860, these national symbols disappeared when the palace was pillaged by French and British troops. An initial reading of the sculptures as a modern celebration of China’s cultural heritage takes on a darker undertone when their true history is known. It reveals a narrative that is grappling with China’s complicated relationship with the West. One that is also evident in the works presented at the Lisson Gallery, which strive to document and critique the affect that China’s increasing interaction with the Western world is having on the nation’s development.

STOP PRESS – With China’s Premier, Wen Jiabao, coming to the UK for a state visit at the end of June the Chinese authorities have finally bowed to international pressure to release Ai Weiwei. We would like to offer special thanks to all those who protested against Ai’s detention and we will keep everyone updated about how this case progresses.