GRONINGEN.- The Groninger Museum is presenting the exhibition FUCK OFF 2, curated by artist and activist Ai Weiwei, art critic Feng Boyi and chief curator of the Groninger Museum, Mark Wilson. This show, which includes 37 contemporary Chinese artists and artist groups, contemplates and questions the current sociological, environmental, legal, and political climate in China today.
The exhibition is a sequel to FUCK OFF, the ground-breaking show staged in Shanghai in 2000 by Ai Weiwei and Feng Boyi, which was quickly censored by the authorities as it was considered too sensitive with its radical content.
Thirteen years later, the lack of artistic freedom in China and the repressive attitude toward individual actions by the government make FUCK OFF 2 especially relevant today.
A catalogue has been published in conjunction with the exhibition, with contributions by the curators and the artists.
Participating artists: Ai Weiwei, Chen Yujin & Chen Yufan, Cheng Li, Deng Dafei & He Hai, Double Fly Art Center, He Chi & Xiong Huang Group, He Xiangyu, He Yunchang, Huang Lin, Ji Wenyu & Zhu Weibing, Jiang Bo, Jin Feng, Jing Kewen, Li Binyuan, Li Songsong, Liang Shuo, Lin Zhipeng, Luo Yang, Ma Qiusha, Ma Yi, Mao Tongqiang, Meng Huang, Qin Ga, Ren Hang, Wu Huaying & Liu Xiaoyuan, Wu Junyong, Xi Mei, Xia Xing, Ye Haiyan, Zhang Dali, Zhao Zhao, Zuoxiao Zuzhou.
The Groninger Museum hosted the second solo museum exhibition by Ai Weiwei in 2008. The museum has also acquired the works WATER MELONS, 2007 and GRAPES, 2009 directly from the artist for the Museum Collection (with the support of the Mondriaan Fund and the BankGiro Loterij).