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Claudia Chen is the founder and chairperson of Liang Gallery in Taipei, as well as the chairperson of the Taiwan Art Gallery Association, which organizes Taipei Art Week and Art Taipei.

Art Taipei 2024. Courtesy Art Taipei

In 1992, at the age of 22, I co-founded the Liang Gallery with my now-husband. That year marked the golden age of Taiwan’s art market. Taiwan at the time was home to a thriving trade and shipping industry, and its collectors were primarily entrepreneurs, alongside prominent families and doctors. A budding culture of art collecting was beginning to take root, creating a fertile ground for artistic growth.

During this period, the gallery business experienced a rapid upward trajectory. However, the art market was still relatively insular and lacked international engagement, with its focus largely centered on Taiwan’s art history. Over time, the arrival of auction houses and museums helped diversify the collector base. Taiwan, with its long tradition of art collecting, began to evolve.

Today, the emergence of a significant group of second-generation collectors has become a hallmark of Taiwan’s art world. These second-generation collectors typically have had exceptional educational opportunities—more than 80 percent have studied abroad. Growing up surrounded by art due to their collector parents, they are intimately familiar with galleries and artists and often have their own distinct preferences. While many have developed international tastes, others maintain a strong appreciation for the distinct characteristics of “Taiwaneseness.”

Installation shots of Art Taipei 2024

The evolution of Taiwan’s art world can be understood through three key features and achievements that have shaped its identity.

One of the most distinctive aspects is the development of Taiwan’s unique ink art system. This evolution is closely tied to the arrival of the “Cross-Strait Masters” after 1945, who brought a wealth of artistic traditions from the mainland to the island. The presence of the National Palace Museumin Taipei further enriched this environment, offering artists, collectors, and scholars access to masterpieces spanning generations. This cultural confluence allowed young people of the time to learn directly from these masters, a process that fostered decades of creative growth. Today, many young artists are exploring innovative styles with ink and paper, earning theconfidence of collectors.

One might wonder why ink art and works on paper have flourished so prominently in Taiwan, a humid island that poses challenges to such delicate works. The answer lies in the presence of highly skilled mounting and framing studios, a tradition deeply rooted in the expertise passed down from the National Palace Museum in Taipei. These professionals have developed techniques that are as esteemed as the works themselves. As a result, Taiwan’s young artists frequently approach ink as a contemporary medium, making ink art here both innovative and distinctly contemporary.

Installation shots of Art Taipei 2024

Another fascinating facet of Taiwan’s art scene is its Indigenous art, which has gained increasing global attention as part of a broader interest in Austronesian cultures. Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples sustain one of theearliest and most significant cultural systems within the Austronesian-speaking world. Their art, deeply tied to the land, serves as a window into the island’s past, offering insights through woven totems and traditional songs that document the region’s social and cultural development. This distinctive cultural identity has drawn the attention of entrepreneurial collectors, particularly those from international corporations, who are eager to acquire works that embody Taiwan’s unique heritage.

Indigenous artists have achieved remarkable recognition, with many invited to participate in international biennales and exhibitions at major institutions across the globe. Their work resonates far beyond Taiwan, demonstrating that deeply local cultures can hold universal appeal. Today, many international curators are turning their focus to long-neglected yet richly layered traditions, often highlighting female artists. Indigenous art, rooted in matriarchal societal structures, embodies this focus. Within these matriarchal communities, women often bear the responsibility of maintaining their families and homes while facing challenges such as climate change, a perspective that lends their art a profound resonance.

The third defining feature of Taiwan’s art scene is its connection to theisland’s advanced semiconductor industry, which has significantly influenced the younger generation of artists. Many young Taiwanese artists possess extraordinary technical skills, often surprising international counterparts with their ability to write their own code and programs. For many, financial constraints have necessitated self-reliance; unable to hire professional programmers, they have taught themselves. Some artists have even borrowed supercomputers to manage the complex calculations required for their work.

This technological proficiency has also shaped the collector base, with a substantial segment of Taiwan’s art market now supported by thesemiconductor industry. Even the supply chain within this sector has become an integral pillar of the local art market, further highlighting thedynamic interplay between technology and creativity in Taiwan’s contemporary art scene.

—As told to Cathy Fan