Digital Editions
Newsletters
Subscribe
Digital Editions
Newsletters
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Diary
blog

Lego Lilies? Ai Weiwei recreates Monet's giant masterpiece

Reinterpreted "Water Lilies"—with the addition of a mysterious dark door—debuts at London's Design Museum in April

The Art Newspaper
20 March 2023
Share
Ai Weiwei's Water Lilies #1 (2022) Photo: © Ela Bialkowska/OKNO studio. © Image courtesy of the artist and Galleria Continua

Ai Weiwei's Water Lilies #1 (2022) Photo: © Ela Bialkowska/OKNO studio. © Image courtesy of the artist and Galleria Continua

Anyone who has sat and tried to painstakingly complete a 1,000 piece jigsaw will likely look upon Ai Weiwei's latest Lego work with awe. Made of 650,000 Lego bricks in 22 colours, the staggering 15m-long work is a recreation of Claude Monet's triptych Water Lilies (1914-26) from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The largest Lego work that the dissident Chinese artist has ever made, Water Lilies #1 (2022) will go on show at London's Design Museum when it opens Ai Weiwei: Making Sense next month (7 April-30 July).

Ai Weiwei

Stick 'em up! Ai Weiwei invites you to give the middle finger in new online art project

Gareth Harris

The original Impressionist masterpiece—depicting one of the lily ponds at Monet’s home in Giverny, near Paris—has become an internationally famous image of nature and light. For his version, Ai has used Lego bricks to "strip away Monet’s brushstrokes in favour of a depersonalised language of industrial parts and colours," according to a press statement. "These pixel-like blocks suggest contemporary digital technologies which are central to modern life, and in reference to how art is often disseminated in the contemporary world."

A detail from Ai Weiwei's Water Lilies #1 (2022) Photo: © Ela Bialkowska/OKNO studio. © Image courtesy of the artist and Galleria Continua

But what's that hidden door on the right side of the Lego image? The dark portal depicts the underground dugout in Xinjiang province, China, where Ai and his father, Ai Qing, lived in forced exile in the 1960s. "Their hellish desert home punctures the watery paradise," a statement says. Who knew Lego could have so many dimensions? Who knew a lily pond could be so deep?

DiaryAi WeiweiClaude MonetDesign Museum, LondonImpressionism
Share
Subscribe to The Art Newspaper’s digital newsletter for your daily digest of essential news, views and analysis from the international art world delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsletter sign-up
Information
About
Contact
Cookie policy
Data protection
Privacy policy
Frequently Asked Questions
Subscription T&Cs
Terms and conditions
Advertise
Sister Papers
Sponsorship policy
Follow us
Instagram
Bluesky
LinkedIn
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
© The Art Newspaper

Related content

In the frameblog
23 August 2019

Despite Brexit, Ai Weiwei has moved to the UK

The Art Newspaper
Diaryblog
16 November 2023

Tim Burton exhibition in London brings Edward Scissorhands and Batman to life

Film director's ghoulish illustrations and paintings to go on show at the Design Museum

The Art Newspaper
Diaryblog
24 September 2024

Monet is back in Vogue thanks to editor’s makeover

Edward Enninful is partnering with the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie to create prints inspired by the artist

The Art Newspaper
Diaryblog
12 May 2025

Wes Anderson’s priceless ‘Renaissance portrait’ to go on show in London

A new exhibition includes the fictional masterpiece ‘Boy With Apple’, which appeared in the Anderson classic, ‘the Grand Budapest Hotel’

The Art Newspaper