“Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it.”

Stupidity can win for a moment, but it can never really succeed because the nature of humans is to seek freedom. Rulers can delay that freedom, but they cannot stop it.

There isn’t a single Chinese university that can invite me to give a talk. Even though I know there are many students who would like to hear what I have to say.

These folks are creative and ironic, and the government can ultimately not control what is going on in their heads.

People have been longing for this moment, because it symbolises a turning point in China’s relationship with the outside world.

[Museums] all belongs to the cultural department, which is the biggest cultural department in the world.

I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.

A lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.

Nationality started as something natural, but we should not be restrained by the old politics that make up these clear lines. It should have its own way of evolving. In some places, it will evolve slower and in others, faster.

Art should live in the heart of the people. Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don’t think art is elite or mysterious.

Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.

A few thousand are to be built in the next few years, all using taxpayer money. But there is no system, no research, no content, no good programs, no good managers.

I don’t think China should care if this crazy old guy should have a show here or not.

I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom

People have a tendency to become elite rather than to care about the general conditions of the society, which makes me sick. It’s an unbearable condition.

The media is the message. It carries the full intention and the meaning. Once you change it…it’s very disturbing.

We move so fast that memory is something we can only grasp

A farmer’s horse is never lame, never unfit to go. Never throws out curbs, never breaks down before or behind.

I’m never in control of my time during the workday.

It makes you realize how lucky you are because it could be gone tomorrow you just never know.

As long as you look for a Buddha somewhere else, you’ll never see that your own mind is the Buddha

You never know what you’re going to have to face, so you’d better be prepared.

Never get involved with someone who wants to change you

I’d never win painting contests. I remember losing to a guy who did a perfect Spiderman.

When death, the great reconciler, has come, it is never our tenderness that we repent of, but our severity.