Taiwan Today

Works by local artists reflect Taiwan’s effervescent cultural landscape.

In August 2019, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMFA) in central Taiwan’s Taichung City received 652 artworks from the Sun Ten Museum in California, known for its collection belonging to Taiwan entrepreneur Hsu Hong-yen (許鴻源‬). The newest additions to NTMFA comprise a veritable treasure trove, including pieces by the late oil painter Chen Cheng-po (陳澄波). “This donation is of great significance because it helps give a more complete overview of the country’s creative history,” Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) said.

According to Hsiao Chong-ray (蕭瓊瑞), a scholar at Tainan City-based National Cheng Kung University in southern Taiwan, this history harks back to stonecutters in the Changbin culture era about 30,000 to 5,000 years ago. Jade pieces emerged shortly afterwards, joining the earthenware works and carvings of local indigenous peoples to further enrich the nation’s premodern art.

Ink paintings and calligraphy created by arrivals from China subsequently became valuable parts of Taiwan’s heritage. But art was first institutionalized under Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945), according to NTMFA director Lin Chi-ming (林志明). “This period saw the establishment of public schools where students could receive basic education in fine art and learn about Western techniques like sketching and observational drawing,” he said.

The Japanese also introduced different painting styles such as oil and watercolor, said Liao Hsin-tien (廖新田), director-general of National Museum of History (NMH) in Taipei City. “Various techniques were popularized during this period, such as impressionism, which Taiwan artists learned from the Japanese, who were in turn influenced by Western culture at that time.”

Despite introducing art education, the Japanese did not establish tertiary institutions for prospective artists. This explains why many traveled to Japan for further studies, such as sculptor Huang Tu-shui (黃土水). “Only after the government relocated to Taiwan did art became a subject at university level. This helped retain talents who could now find teaching jobs to pass down their passion,” Lin said.

Art Reflects Life

Many prestigious artists from China followed the government to Taiwan in 1949. Among them was Huang Chun-pi (黃君璧), who became director of the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taipei from 1949 to 1971. During his tenure, the educator and artist was a major figure in promoting ink painting. Huang was joined by Pu Ru (溥心畬‬) and Chang Dai-chien (張大千). Pu also made a name for himself as an educator, teaching at NTNU for 14 years, but it is Chang who is the best known of the three thanks to stints living in the U.S. and South America. Together, the trio is widely referred to as “three masters from across the strait.”

Chinese influence was accompanied by that of the U.S., as Taipei cooperated with Washington on defense leading to several decades of in-country American troop postings. According to Liao, this had a marked influence on local artistic developments. “Abstract expressionism and pop culture, which were very much in vogue in the U.S., emerged and took root at home,” he said.

One of the leading artists from this era is Liu Kuo-sung (劉國松), a founding member of the May Art Association—a famous group of revolutionary artists established in 1957. Another is Lee Shi-chi (李錫奇‬), known for his prints, calligraphy, ink paintings and works composed using a variety of materials and textures. He was one of the best known members of the Eastern Art Association, an equally important avant-garde group in the late 1950s through the 1960s.

The country’s walkout of the U.N. in 1971 had a profound impact on the citizenry. Searching for an identity and sense of self, many artists adopted folk motifs, said Lin, who credits much of the movement’s success to Shiy De-jinn (席德進). The Sichuan province native worked tirelessly to preserve and depict Taiwan’s traditional culture.

Two more iconic figures from this period are painter Hung Tung (洪通) and sculptor Ju Ming (朱銘). Hung was known for his self-taught style with colorful works inspired by events such as temple fairs and traditional Taiwanese opera, while Ju owes his status to a series of highly acclaimed wooden sculptures that debuted in 1976 at NMH.

Freedom of Expression

Taiwan’s democratization from the late 1980s was illustrated by a revitalization of the local art scene. “Many began taking a critical view of authority and reflecting on the country’s identity and subjectivity,” Liao said. “Social issues like women’s rights rose to prominence in artists’ works as well.”

The 1980s also saw many improvements in the infrastructure for collecting, exhibiting and researching art. In 1983, Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) opened its doors, followed by NTMFA in 1988 and Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in 1994 in southern Taiwan. Major regular exhibitions began to emerge too, notably the International Biennial Print Exhibit, which has been hosted by NTMFA since the institution opened, as well as the Taipei Biennial, organized by TFAM since 1998 and considered the country’s most prestigious showcase of contemporary art.

Maturation of Taiwan’s art scene saw the emergence of greater specialization in exhibition spaces, Liao said. Examples include the Juming and Yingge ceramics museums located in New Taipei City founded in 1999 and 2000, respectively, as well as a branch of NTMFA focusing on photography scheduled to open in May in downtown Taipei.

The 21st century has given artists easy access to innovative new mediums of expression, and NTMFA is working tirelessly to keep up with the latest technologies while providing visitors with experiences rarely found in a traditional gallery. “We were quick to adopt interactive display technologies, and are currently looking at using robotics to produce groundbreaking works,” Lin said.

With a long tradition of artistic expression influenced by a wide variety of styles, Liao is adamant Taiwan should be proud of its native artists and their development. This is why he helped found Taiwan Art History Association, which is tasked with training younger generations and holding themed seminars on local art. “When more is known about the country’s painters, sculptors and other industry leaders, their works will be taken more seriously,” he said. “The pieces they create are beautiful and diverse, and now is the time for their brilliance to be recognized.”

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw