Following the grand announcement of Pace Gallery representing the up-and-coming artist Li Hei Di last year, Li Hei Di soon debuted at auction and achieved outstanding results. Not only are they the youngest artist represented by Pace, but they were also selected as the 2024 Forbes "30 Under 30" for her exceptional talent. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2022 with a Master’s degree, Li Hei Di’s works have been shown in numerous exhibitions at renowned galleries and institutions, including Uncanny Valley, Gagosian Gallery, Hong Kong (2023); Home is Where the Haunt Is, X Museum, Beijing (2023); The Armory Show, Michael Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles (2024). Drifted Petals on Her Lifted Mound debuted in the artist's first solo exhibition in 2022, Tits at Dawn. The painting’s unrestrained brushstrokes are rendered like layers of lingering effervescence, enveloping the icy surface with warm currents as if about to ignite the frozen waters, as the title evokes. The pearl-like bubbles in ascending motion brew a breath of life in the frozen stillness, rendering the composition a dreamy visual letter of love and, perhaps, lust.

Li Hei Di's artistic practices are deeply influenced by cross-cultural experiences, integrating Eastern and Western artistic traditions to create works that delve into identity, desire, and transformation themes. The fluidity and dynamism of her paintings reflect her immense fascination with the human condition and the transience of life. They distil the beauty of the ephemeral and explores it through texture, balance and colour. Preparatory drawings are never part of Li Hei Di’s creative process, imbuing their paintings with unbound movement and energy. In recent years, Li Hei Di has immersed themself in the notion of "water". Water can carry a boat, but it can equally capsize it. Like the melting pool of ice in the present work, the rippling water’s surface juxtaposing the undercurrents beneath the surface are two sides of the same coin, presenting different levels of reality. "We always say things like staying true, but no one knows what is really true. I think it's the struggle itself that we should stay with, to find the truth, and that is the journey, and that is the practice itself." The duality of physical experience and social environment in real life has fueled Li’s cathartic outputs. Through painting, sculpture and performance art, they continue to explore the diversity of inner gender and bodily experience, inviting the audience to connect with her work on a personal level.

當代新秀李黑地在去年獲佩斯畫廊代理後首登拍場，且獲得佳績，聲名鵲起。李氏不僅是佩斯畫廊旗下最年輕的藝術家，還因其卓越天賦入選2024年福布斯「30 Under 30 」精英榜。李黑地於2022年從英國皇家藝術學院取得繪畫碩士學位後，其作品已屢次亮相於著名畫廊和機構的展覽，當中包括〈恐怖谷〉，高古軒畫廊，香港（2023年）；〈家即幽靈所在之處〉，X美術館，北京（2023年）；軍械庫藝博會，邁克爾·科恩畫廊，洛杉磯（2024年）。《在死的冰上起愛的火災》在藝術家2022年全球首個個展〈雀在破曉〉中首度亮相，畫中縱情恣意的筆觸像層層輕煙縈繞，包裹着暖流暗湧的冰面，彷彿沈寂的寒冰正如題燃起，漸漸融化。而醞釀已久的一顆顆珍珠猶如氣息的泡沫般隱若浮現，畫面如夢似幻，情慾的暗喻在李氏筆下綺麗至極。

李黑地的創作深受跨文化經驗影響，融合東西方藝術傳統，繪畫出以身份認知、慾望與轉變等作核心主題的作品。李黑地作品畫面的流動性動感，反映了李氏對人類處境和萬物轉瞬即逝的濃厚興趣。藝術家從提煉曇花一現的美，並透過紋理、平衡和色彩進行深入揣摩。李黑地作畫從不起稿，以至成品充滿夢幻與無拘無束的動感和能量。近年，李黑地沉迷於「水」的意象概念。所謂「水能載舟，亦能覆舟」，水面之上的倒影、波紋和水面下的暗流湧動，一體兩面，均呈現出不同層次的真實性。「我們總說要保持真實，但是沒有人真正知道什麼是真實的。我認為我們應該在掙扎中堅持，尋找真理，這就是旅程，這就是實踐本身。」李黑地的創作核心是關注現實生活中的身體體驗和社會環境中的二元性，透過繪畫、雕塑和行為藝術來持續探索自身內在的性別和身體經驗的多樣性。因此，本作冰火相容的題材正好體現了藝術家的對刻板二元性的挑戰。