Pace Gallery has announced its representation of Li Hei Di, a young artist whose paintings combine figuration and abstraction to explore themes of embodiment, intimacy, and displacement. Li, who was born in 1997, will now be the youngest artist on the mega-gallery’s roster. They will be represented jointly by Pace, Michael Kohn Gallery, and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery.
This move by Pace is the latest in a string of major galleries signing rising talents from the younger generation. Earlier this month, Sasha Gordon became the youngest artist to join the roster of David Zwirner and will be represented in partnership with her longtime gallery, Matthew Brown. Additionally, Hauser & Wirth recently announced that it will represent Michaela Yearwood-Dan, in collaboration with New York’s Marianne Boesky Gallery. And just yesterday, White Cube announced that it would represent Alia Ahmad, the first artist from the Arab Gulf region to join the gallery.
Li was recently featured in The Artsy Vanguard 2023–2024, an annual feature that identifies early-career artists poised to shape contemporary art’s future. Gordon was also featured in the list, as was Yearwood-Dan (both in 2022).
Li’s first significant appearance with Pace will come this December, when a new painting by the artist will be featured at the gallery’s booth at Art Basel Miami Beach. Moreover, their first solo exhibition with Pace is slated for spring 2025 in Hong Kong. Joshua Friedman, Senior Director at Pace Los Angeles, has worked closely with the artist since his time at Michael Kohn Gallery. He will continue to lead the gallery’s representation of Li.
Featuring contrasting palettes, translucent figures and layered compositions, Li’s work explores narratives around gender and desire. Pace’s President, Samanthe Rubell, pointed to Li’s ability to merge abstraction with explorations of gender fluidity, noting that this combination has made Li one of the most compelling young painters working today. “Their incredible technical skill, rigorous investigations of sex and gender, and morphing of languid figures into luminous abstractions have made them one of the most inventive young painters working today,” she said.
