Largest-ever U.K. exhibition of artist Ai Weiwei to launch in London

A portrait of Ai Weiwei from 2012 is pictured. (Photo from Gao Yuan)

Contemporary Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei's work is to go on show as the launch exhibition of the Blenheim Art Foundation in London.

Opening at Blenheim Palace this fall, the exhibition will showcase more than 50 artworks by Ai Weiwei produced over the last 30 years in the artist's most extensive U.K. exhibition ever.

The show will cover the breadth of Weiwei's career, spanning the early photography dating from his New York period in the 1980s through to new works conceived in China specifically for the exhibition.

A renowned social activist, Weiwei has not been able to leave China since 2011 for political reasons, resulting in his working with the Blenheim Art Foundation team from a distance on 3D plans and models of the site and grounds.

Notable pieces on show will include "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: Gold" (2010) and "He Xie" (2010), comprising 2,300 small porcelain crabs.

A series of 55 photographs by Ai Weiwei documenting his time spent in New York from 1983 to 1993 will also be showcased, alongside "Marble Surveillance Camera" (2010), a poignant reminder of Ai's current situation, and "Slanted Table" (1997), a reconfigured Qing Dynasty piece.

New works created for the exhibition will include the site-specific carpet "Soft Ground (Great Hall)" and hand-painted porcelain plates with ‘freedom flower' details.

"Ai Weiwei at Blenheim Palace" is the first major contemporary art exhibition to be presented at the UNESCO World Heritage site, which dates back to 1704 and was famously the birthplace of British prime minister Winston Churchill.

The exhibition will run from October 1 - December 14.