BREGENZ, AUSTRIA.- When Ai Weiwei was invited to mount a big solo exhibition at the Kunsthaus Bregenz one and a half years ago, no one could have foreseen the present situation. At the beginning of April 2011 Ai Weiwei was arrested at the Beijing Capital International Airport. Given the current situation, the museum has often been asked in recent weeks whether the exhibition will take place. In their view, it is more important than ever right now to show Ai Weiwei’s work, not only because the Kunsthaus Bregenz show concentrates on his architectural projects and hence deals with a hitherto undertreated aspect of his extremely diverse oeuvre, but above all because they are convinced that it is necessary to keep interest in and discussion of this major artist’s work and his persecution by the Chinese state in the public eye.