Century of Taiwanese Watercolor Painting

Taiwan boasts one of the world's highest population densities of watercolor learners and has consistently excelled in international watercolor competitions in recent years. From a Japanese teacher's paintbox during the colonial era to today's three national watercolor associations and annual International Watercolor Expo, Taiwanese watercolor painting has evolved over an entire century.

The Seeds: Ishikawa Kin'ichiro and the First Generation (1907–1945)

In 1907, Japanese watercolor painter Ishikawa Kin'ichiro (1871–1945) arrived in Taiwan to teach at the Taiwan Governor-General's National Language School. Embracing Western Impressionist observation methods, he viewed plein air painting as a path to natural beauty. Ishikawa didn't merely teach technique—he taught students to see Taiwan through their own eyes. In an era when Taiwan's art world was dominated by calligraphy and temple decorations, picking up a watercolor brush was already an act of rebellion.

Ishikawa cultivated Taiwan's first generation of Western painters: Ni Chiang-huai (1894–1943), one of Taiwan's earliest watercolorists and the first local collector to fund art movements with his own money; Li Tse-fan (1907–1989), famous for his Hsinchu landscapes, who brought watercolor into Taiwan's teacher education system; and Chen Cheng-po (1895–1947), renowned for his oil paintings selected for the Imperial Art Exhibition (Teiten), whose watercolor sketches were equally brilliant, tragically died during the February 28 Incident.

In 1927, Ishikawa and other Japanese artists established the "Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition" (Taiwan Exhibition), equivalent to Japan's Imperial Exhibition, becoming the most important platform for Taiwanese artists. After Ishikawa's return to Japan in 1932, his students founded the "Ichiro Society" (named after his pen name), continuing annual exhibitions.

The Bloom: From Post-War to Local Awakening (1945–1990)

Post-war painters who came to Taiwan with the Nationalist government brought different influences. Ma Bai-shui (1909–2003) fused Chinese ink wash rendering with Western watercolor transparency, teaching at Taiwan Normal University for decades and influencing countless art teachers. Xi De-jin (1923–1981), primarily an oil painter, created extensive late-career watercolor sketches of Taiwan's traditional architecture and landscapes, becoming the first artist to document Taiwan's folk architectural beauty in watercolor—his works are now housed in the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.

Lan Yin-ting (1903–1979) was one of Ishikawa's most outstanding students. In 1929, recommended by Ishikawa, he became a member of the Royal Watercolour Society; in 1971, the European and American Art Critics Association collectively selected him as one of the "World's Top Ten Watercolor Painters"—marking Taiwanese watercolor's first international recognition. Lan developed a watercolor technique incorporating Chinese ink painting brushwork, specializing in Taiwan's rural scenery, and was chosen as a national gift artist by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Liu Chi-wei (1912–2002) was another legend. Beginning painting at 38 while working as an engineer, he became one of Taiwan's most beloved watercolorists. Liu combined anthropological fieldwork with artistic creation, traveling to Borneo and Papua New Guinea, developing a watercolor style characterized by the naivety and vitality of primitive art.

Xiao Ru-song (1922–1992) exemplified the "teacher-artist" model. Teaching in Hsinchu for over forty years, his watercolors featured precise composition and serene atmosphere. Today, the Xiao Ru-song Art Park in Hsinchu honors his legacy.

Association Building: Three Major Groups and International Connections (1990–2010)

From the 1990s, Taiwan's watercolor community entered an organized and internationalized phase:

• Taiwan Watercolor Association: The earliest national watercolor organization, regularly holding group exhibitions
• Taiwan International Watercolor Association: Focused on promoting international exchange, with over 9,000 Facebook followers
• Chinese Asia-Pacific Watercolor Art Association: Promoted by Hong Dong-biao and others, with the motto "watercolor art, education, and love"

The three associations maintain close relationships with Japan's Watercolor Society, the International Watercolour Society (IWS), and other organizations. The 2020 "International Watercolor Art Expo" held in Taipei was one of Asia's largest watercolor exhibition events. The Chimei Museum has also hosted Taiwan-Japan watercolor exchange exhibitions.

Yang En-sheng (1956–2022) represented this era's achievements. His photorealistic watercolors depicted Taiwan's ecology—butterflies, birds, plants—combining artistic value with natural scientific documentation, earning him the title "Taiwan's Audubon."

Contemporary Era: Taiwanese Watercolor on the International Stage (2010–Present)

Chien Chung-Wei (1968–) is the most brilliant name representing Taiwanese watercolor on the international stage. In 2013, he first appeared in French watercolor art magazine with a ten-page feature interview; in 2015, he became Taiwan's first artist to simultaneously earn signature membership in both the American Watercolor Society (AWS) and the National Watercolor Society (NWS); in 2019, he received the AWS Dolphin Fellowship honor. He has conducted workshops in over twenty countries worldwide, and his book "Artistic Conception: Chien Chung-Wei's Watercolor Art" was published simultaneously in Taiwan and China, being rated as the "2019 Influential Book of the Year." Chien's style fuses Chinese aesthetic philosophy with Western watercolor techniques, proving that watercolor is not merely an "introductory medium" but a language capable of profound artistic expression.

Hong Dong-biao (1955–) is another important contemporary watercolor artist and educator. A graduate of Taiwan Normal University's Fine Arts Department, he has won first prize in the Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition, the Arts and Literature Medal, and the landscape category championship in Malaysia's International Watercolor Competition. He has long served as vice president of the Chinese Asia-Pacific Watercolor Art Association, promoting Taiwan watercolor's international visibility.

Xie Ming-gang (1955–) excels in watercolor education and theoretical writing. Former associate professor in the Fine Arts Department at Taiwan University of Arts, he authored teaching classics including "The Secrets of Watercolor Techniques" and "Watercolor Creation," training numerous mid-generation Taiwanese watercolor painters.

Taiwan Land Development Corporation's "Flow: Taiwan 50 Contemporary Watercolor Exhibition" traced 22 representative painters spanning fifty years from Lan Yin-ting and Li Tse-fan to Chien Chung-Wei, providing the most comprehensive recent retrospective of Taiwanese watercolor history.

Why is Taiwanese Watercolor Particularly Active?

Several factors interweave:

1. Deep Foundation from the Japanese Period: Ishikawa Kin'ichiro not only taught painting but established plein air traditions and exhibition systems
2. Teacher Education System: Watercolor has long been a core subject in art teacher education, from Li Tse-fan and Ma Bai-shui to today's Taiwan Normal University Fine Arts Department—every generation of art teachers knows watercolor
3. Material Accessibility: Watercolor tools are lightweight and affordable, and Taiwan's humid climate actually creates unique water mark effects
4. Community Cohesion: Three major associations plus local painting societies form a dense network for learning and exhibition
5. International Connections: From Lan Yin-ting's Royal Watercolour Society membership to Chien Chung-Wei's AWS recognition, Taiwanese painters continue securing positions in international organizations

References

• 石川欽一郎 — Wikipedia
• 藍蔭鼎 — Oriental Watercolor Style Named After Taiwan | Hong-Gah Foundation
• Ni Chiang-huai — Wikipedia
• Development Periods of Taiwanese Watercolor | Taiwan Land
• New Art Era of Painting Taiwan: Lan Yin-ting, Liao Chi-chun | MOFA NGO Bilingual Website
• Chien Chung-Wei | Taoyuan Online Museum
• Professor Hong Dong-biao | National Arts Alliance
• 謝明錩 — Wikipedia
• Flow: Taiwan 50 Contemporary Watercolor Exhibition | Taiwan Land Development
• Taiwan-Japan Watercolor Exchange Exhibition | Chimei Museum
• Taiwanese Art — Wikipedia
• Ten Artistic Figures from Taiwan — Google Arts & Culture / National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
• Artistic Conception: Chien Chung-Wei's Watercolor Art | Books.com.tw
• Blazing New Trails for Modern Art — Taiwan Panorama