Painting

A new generation of Taiwan painters appeared during the period of Japanese rule (1895-1945) whose subject matter, like that of the Impressionists, centered on daily life or local landscapes.  Through their Nativist Art, characterized by a conscious desire to depict images evoking Taiwan''s unique identity, these oil painter had an important influence on Taiwan''s artistic development.

As Nativist Art as reaching its peak, relocation of the ROC government to Taipei in 1949 brought a sudden influx of traditional ink painters.  By the late 195-s and early 1960s, however, many young artists, disillusioned with traditional styles but unable to connect with Japanese-trained Impressionism, were drawn to contemporary Western trends, Abstract Art in particular.  The late 1960s and the 1970s saw a new nativist movement emerge, as artists once again painted local scenery and architecture, and explored folk art traditions.

Recent trends since the 1980s and 1990s have seen artists employ a much broader variety of styles and subject matters, and use their Taiwan consciousness as an important starting point for the expression of ideas relating to identity and filled with symbolic or metaphorical images.