SOMEWHERE IN TIME

Zhang Garden (Zhang Yuan) is a historic shikumen (Shanghai-style lane house) compound in Shanghai's Jing'an District, located on Nanjing Road West. Originally a fairground in 1878, it was acquired by Zhang Shuhe in 1882 and became Shanghai's premier public garden for cultural events. It is considered a significant site for preserving Shanghai's architectural heritage and is often referred to as the "birthplace of Shanghai-style culture". 

As a native of Shanghai, some of Bei Jiashang's artworks possess a strong flavour of Shanghai. This historic building perfectly and harmoniously complements the exhibition of these artworks.

The artworks exhibited this time vividly depict the "Golden Decade" of Shanghai in the 1930s. This was a period when Shanghai transitioned from an agricultural town to a modern city, marked by a significant boom in urban life, and it was also the decade with the fastest growth. It was not only the starting point of China's urbanisation process, but also a decade marked by significant changes in people's lives.

During the same period, Shanghai was a window for cultural exchanges between the East and the West. Every day, new and innovative things kept emerging, which made the characteristics of Shanghai culture to be innovation, change-seeking, pursuit of excellence, and internationalisation. In addition, this period marked the beginning of Chinese oil painting. As the modern art movement in China emerged and developed in Shanghai, the influx of numerous overseas ideas gave rise to an extremely memorable "golden decade" in the history of art in Shanghai.

Bei Jiaxiang uses his paintbrush to rediscover the former charm of Shanghai. The romantic emotions and life states contained in the paintings are not merely memories, but more of imagination. They vividly recreate the old scenes of Shanghai and evoke people's cultural memories of this city. The Hometown Series can be regarded as Bei Jiaxiang's spiritual return to his native land. The works incorporate his meticulous observations of life and are a natural expression of his inner feelings.