Image: Hai Bo, The Southern Series No. 35, 2015. black and white photograph, 150 cm x 300 cm (59-1/16" x 9' 10-1/8").

 Pace Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in California dedicated to Chinese artist Hai Bo. The exhibition will include a selection of works from the artist’s recent series, The Southern, a collection of photographs taken across Southern China. 

 “If ‘The Northern’ series represents a heavy reality and pessimistic emotions, then ‘The Southern’ series is more about fantasy and virtual mental states. Life and art are just dreams,” says Hai Bo.

 The Southern Series No. 35 (2015) conveys both the ephemeral and the eternal—the effects of the passage of time and the endurance against it. And yet, the piece itself is timeless; it could be from a hundred years ago, or tomorrow. Its power is intensified by its scale (nearly five by ten feet), which allows you to enter into it, becoming a part of the work instead of just a spectator.  

 Speaking about the narrative power of Hai Bo’s work, Elizabeth Sullivan, President of Pace Palo Alto, says, “I think what is a wonderful touchstone of Hai Bo’s work is that it is very poetic. Each photo is almost a poem or a short story—you want to fall into that photo and you see so much more than what is really there, and we can all interpret it in our own way. It is really beautiful to have these experiences brought to the gallery.” 

 An opening reception for the artist will be held on Wednesday, May 30 from 4 – 7 pm. The exhibition will be on view from May 31 through July 15, 2018.