Silk has been produced in China for some 4,000 years, and it eventually spread via the Silk Road to reach Venice, where it became central to the Renaissance economy. At Salone del Mobile, the Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei and Venetian fabric house Rubelli explored this connection in an immersive textile installation, “Ai Weiwei: About Silk.” It centers on an elaborate silk lampas based on the artist’s The Animal that Looks like a Llama but is Actually an Alpaca. Golden yellow threads woven on a red background depict surveillance cameras, handcuffs, and the titular animal. A second artwork, Finger, showed a graceful arm giving a profane hand gesture. Both bring symbols of protest to the noble material. rubelli.com