The Shaping of the Contemporary Taiwanese Art World - Yishu Mar 2003

The growth of the Taiwan art scene is expertly detailed in Hai-Ming Huang's article "The Shaping of the Contemporary Taiwanese Art World: A Review of the Contemporary Taiwanese Art Events From the 1980s to the Present," published in the March 2003 Spring Issue of Yishu. Over the past few decades, certain political and socioeconomic factors contributed to an increased focus on art in Taiwan. In particular, the lifting of martial law in 1987 was viewed as a "watershed" moment. The early nineties marked a strong period of growth within the Taiwanese art scene, and the development spurred in the late nineties continued far into the next millennium. However, prior to the lifting of martial law, a number of factors contributed to an increase in the quality of Taiwanese modern art. A number of international exhibitions, notably those by Japan and Korea, highlighted a perceived lack of quality in Taiwanese art. That combined with conversations with the mainland, and Taiwanese artists soon sought to refine their craft and establish their own voice. The success of their recent exhibitions supports the claim that they have done so.