Museums and the Art Market in Taiwan

Taiwan's gov't news portal offers this quick overview of art museums and galleries in Taipei, with some attention to elsewhere:

Several galleries in central and southern Taiwan have established themselves in the art market. Some of the best known include Gallery Pierre 臻品藝術中心, East Gallery 東之畫廊, and Modern Art Gallery 現代藝術空間 in Taichung; New Phase Art Space 新生態藝術環境 in Tainan; the Up Gallery 阿普畫廊 and Duchamp Gallery 杜象藝術中心 in Kaohsiung; and Gallery Venus 維納斯藝廊 in Hualien 花蓮.

The increase in art galleries around the island has been partly due to the great expansion of art collecting in the 1980s. Sotheby's and Christie's both began holding art auctions in Taiwan in the early 1990s, with varying degrees of success, focusing primarily on traditional painting and works by Taiwan's Japanese-trained impressionists.

Another major development has been the annual Taipei Art Fair International 臺北國際藝術博覽會, which promotes the local art market both regionally and internationally. The event gives local art collectors a chance to appreciate and bid for masterpieces by world-renowned artists, drawing around 70,000 to 80,000 visitors each year.

[Taiwan]