--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm most embarrassed at my art shows…" description: "\"I'm most embarrassed at my art shows, even though I don't show it.\" — Ai Weiwei" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e4/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-eve_1297792.png" --- # I'm most embarrassed at my art shows, even though I don't… ![“I'm most embarrassed at my art shows, even though I don't show it.” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e4/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-eve_1297792.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e4/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-eve_1297792.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e4/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-eve_1297792.png) > “I'm most embarrassed at my art shows, even though I don't show it.” [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist feels embarrassment about his own art shows, despite not exhibiting them. **In simple terms:** He is embarrassed about his art shows even though he doesn't show them. Key Takeaway Confront personal discomfort. Themes embarrassment art self‑critique Mood reflective anxious Type personal confessional When to use this quote - gallery openings - private studio work - social media sharing - public speaking Key Concepts public perception artist vulnerability Questions to Reflect On - Why do you feel embarrassed? - What would change your view of your own art? A Different Perspective Embarrassment may stem from fear of judgment rather than the work itself. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Embarrassed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embarrassed/) ## Related quotes > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [I've been an art collector since the Sixties, and I kept it very separate from my showbusiness career. I've had art shows since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/i-ve-been-an-art-collector-since-the-sixties-and-i-kept-it-very/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [The educational aspect of art shows has become overbearing: some of exhibits can leave you bleary from trying to read the walls. Presumably a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-educational-aspect-of-art-shows-has-become-overbearing-some-of/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The great thing about doing art shows is you get to meet the people who are interested in your art, and I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stanley/the-great-thing-about-doing-art-shows-is-you-get-to-meet-the-people/) [Paul Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stanley/) > [In reality opposites are one; art shows this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/in-reality-opposites-are-one-art-shows-this/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [“Art shows what's inside. And that's scary. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shepard-fairey/art-shows-and-the-institutions-end-up-being-the-couriers-for-culture/) [Shepard Fairey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shepard-fairey/) > [Doing studio shows... you don't get the details of the league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cris-collinsworth/doing-studio-shows-you-don-t-get-the-details-of-the-league/) [Cris Collinsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cris-collinsworth/) > [I've done more crap than I care to remember. I really have. 'Airwolf.' 'Murder, She Wrote.' 'Amazon Women on the Moon.' But you learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/i-ve-done-more-crap-than-i-care-to-remember-i-really-have-airwolf/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [I just love shows that don't hand everything to you, that ask you to be smarter. 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It makes demands of viewers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-garber/in-our-show-you-have-to-pay-attention-and-know-what-happened-before-i/) [Victor Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-garber/) > [“A good day is when no one shows up and you don't have to go anywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-shavitz/a-good-day-is-when-no-one-shows-up-and-you-don-t-have-to-go-anywhere/) Burt Shavitz > [I don't know how to make hit or flop shows, I don't know its mechanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-grover/i-don-t-know-how-to-make-hit-or-flop-shows-i-don-t-know-its-mechanism/) [Sunil Grover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-grover/) > [Sometimes the most incredible shows don't do well because they're ahead of their time or people just don't get into it quickly enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-gubelmann/sometimes-the-most-incredible-shows-don-t-do-well-because-they-re/) [Fiona Gubelmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-gubelmann/) ## More by Ai Weiwei > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/if-my-art-has-nothing-to-do-with-people-s-pain-and-sorrow-what-is-art/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/china-has-a-rich-history-that-has-spanned-millennia-it-consists-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-world-should-be-much-more-open-and-should-be-much-more-free-so/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/by-participating-in-the-society-we-live-in-we-understand-our/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-see-the-beijing-national-stadium-as-an-architectural-project-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I curated this show \[Shanghai Biennale \], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-curated-this-show-shanghai-biennale-i-was-by-no-means-trying-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-we-cannot-have-a-double-standard-we-cannot-see-our-art-as/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. 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Individual freedom takes us beyond them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/our-lives-are-bound-by-physical-limits-familial-ties-political/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Now I've come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/now-i-ve-come-to-such-a-mixed-culture-america-europe-south-america/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new-directions-in-the-context-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) [Explore all 359 Ai Weiwei quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm most embarrassed at my art shows, even though I don't show it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ai Weiwei" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-even-though-i-don-t-show-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-even-though-i-don-t-show-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e4/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-eve_1297792.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e4/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-eve_1297792.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e4/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-eve_1297792.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm most embarrassed at my art shows, even though I don't show it.” — Ai Weiwei", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ai Weiwei", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm most embarrassed at my art...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-even-though-i-don-t-show-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-most-embarrassed-at-my-art-shows-even-though-i-don-t-show-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```