Skip to content

This Art is Not For Sale

If the art cannot sell, that is fine. 
Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

I’m a very lucky artist. I never really cared about the market.  And from today on I will never sell one piece of work.  I will feel happy – not only happy – I will feel a great sense of achievement.  


Art is not made for sale.  The market is not controllable by the artist.  I think it’s a shame if an artist is just concerned about market.  Of course, we all have to struggle, but there are many ways to struggle.  And if the art cannot sell, that is fine. 

In Their Own Words was recorded in Ai Weiwei’s studio.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

Related
The hospital where Rainn Wilson’s wife and son nearly died became his own personal holy site. There, he discovered that the sacred can exist in places we least expect it. During his talk at A Night of Awe and Wonder, he explained how the awe we feel in moments of courage and love is moral beauty — and following it might be the start of our spiritual revolution.
13 min
with

Up Next