ThisOctober, Space and Gallery Association Shanghai is pleased to presentPolarSolitude––asolo exhibitionofZhaoBo. The exhibitionbrings together his recent works, especially large-scale pieces created since 2023, presenting the trajectory of his artistic practice and his exploration of how the digital revolution shapes the postmodern social landscape, as well as his pursuit of a sense of epic grandeur and sublimity. Curated by Lu Mingjun, the exhibition is on view from27thOctober until30thNovember 2024.
In 2011, while pursuing a master's degree in the Oil Painting Department at the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, Zhao Bo received the opportunity to study at the Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo in Norway. Zhao Bo’s trip to Oslo had a profound impact on his later works. It was also during this period that he developed a renewed perception and understanding of his hometown in northeastern China. Then he turned his gaze toward the long-neglected natural landscape of the region. At this point, he realized that the true "polar region" for him was not Norway in northern Europe, but rather his homeland in the northeast. As a result, much of his work began to depict scenes that resembled both northern Europe and northeastern China. In a sense, his paintings evoke an imagined northern land, a future polar region that transcends both East and West.
Zhao Bo named one of his series "Cold Wonderland"—a reference to Norway, once seen as the "end of the world" and an "exquisite paradise" on Earth. These landscapes resemble both mysterious, uninhabited realms and desolate lands after the disappearance of humanity. The artist's decision to add the prefix "cold" to "wonderland" may reflect an emphasis on the depersonalized or inhuman aspects of these places.
Spruce-covered snowy landscapes which exists in Northern Europe and Northeast China are a recurring motif in Zhao Bo's paintings. Spruces mostly grow in cold regions. Not only do they possess great resilience and cold resistance, but they also carry a sense of sacredness. This may be why the artist repeatedly portrays them—though, in the end, what is depicted no longer seems to be spruces entirely. In Zhao Bo’s imagination, no matter how the world changes, and no matter where humanity’s fate ultimately leads, only these spruces will remain standing. And the “polar region” is the reality we live in or the future world that is soon to arrive.
Compared to his earlier works, Zhao Bo’s recent creations still carry a strong sense of romanticism. He seeks to discover a view of nature and the universe that transcends time and place, East and West, in response to contemporary crises—a force capable of resisting anxiety, nihilism, and confusion. It is an unnamed view of nature, the universe, and a latent force, much like the exoticism Renaissance painters found in the far North, which eventually transformed into a kind of dark matter and uncontrollable potential.
In a self-statement, Zhao Bo wrote: "I am fascinated by the tension between the human body, human consciousness, and how these two aspects relate to the world, even the universe. This tension provides me with a way to view the world and a method for my work." Ultimately, humans remain the true subject of Zhao Bo's paintings. However, instead of being intruders from a futuristic realm, these humans are more like survivors after the disappearance of humanity. In an "extreme" world, after all, every individual is both a solitary traveler and a survivor.
