Pearl Lam Galleries presents Summer Dreams Can’t Wait, a group exhibition by seven artists from China, Ghana and South Africa at the gallery’s 70 Square Metres space in Shanghai.
The show captures the fleeting beauty of summer through themes of intimacy, impermanence and silent exchanges that linger between dream and daylight — enhanced by soft lighting, summer mats, a soundscape of whispering waves and the quiet rustle of summer clothing. Cornelius Annor (b.1990, Ghana) uses figurative painting as a medium and blends traditional Ghanaian textiles in Me Yonko (My Friend), which offers a quiet contemplation on the friendship between two young men in elegant attire.
Kingsley Dzade (b.1989, Ghana) explores food as a cultural narrative. His piece titled Can’t Wait depicts a man enjoying his meal while his watchful dog observes from beside the table. The scene hints that collective sharing is central to the values of Dzade’s native Ghana, this is both in the context of people sharing among each other as well as with other living things such as animals.
Jin Junjie (b.1989, China) uses a “scrape painting” technique inspired by xieyi traditions, prioritising emotional essence over form. Works such as Like a Dream, Like an Illusion and A Village in the Distance reveal his process of layering and carving acrylic paint, while Women Sunbathing on the Beach, inspired by Picasso’s sketches, reduces figures to clean, minimalist lines. Additionally, Sphephelo Mnguni (b.1990, South Africa) traces the tensions between traditional African culture and contemporary life in Izimpande: The Roots where he paints a goat standing in a sunlit yard next to a modern setting.
Deborah Segun’s Soaking It All In features fragmented female silhouettes emerging from washes of colour like midday mirages with their forms hinting at perpetual rebirth and reflection. On the other hand, Kwaku Yaro (b.1995, Ghana), weaves Ghanaian cultural narratives with subtle Chinese motifs inspired by his time as an artist-in-residence in Shanghai. His three works using the iconic “Ghana Must Go” bags, and burlap — are layered on top of African nylon mats and Chinese summer rattan mats.
Summer Dreams Can’t Wait opened on the 18th of July and will run until the 30th of August 2025 at Pearl Lam Galleries’ 70 Square Metres Space, Shanghai.
