From Impressionism to Modernism, Li Shih-Chiao painted the people, everyday life, and social phenomena of twentieth-century Taiwan. His painting style traces the course of the artist's creative journey and helped establish the visual character of postwar Taiwanese art.
Li Shih-Chiao (1908–1995) became an emblematic figure precisely because he lived through the same tragic years of war and White Terror as his contemporaries. Through his mastery of realism, he painted the powerful, uncompromising force found in everyday life, becoming a spiritual symbol for a troubled era.
Li Shih-Chiao's works reveal the true conditions of his time and a deep, intense concern for humanity. His pictorial language, visual characteristics, and constantly evolving materials and techniques bridged prewar and postwar painting, laying the groundwork for the development of Taiwanese art history.