Abstract
Li Chun Shan (Li Zhongsheng) was one of the most influential surrealist artists in 20th century China and Taiwan. His career began in 1930s Tokyo, where, against the background of the booming avant-garde art movement, he claimed “local color” as the tool for the reform of Chinese painting. His paintings originated not from the surrealism of André Breton but from Neue Sachlichkeit and the magic realism that followed German Expressionism. Following Foujita Tsuguharu’s “local color” technique, Li believed that the adoption of modern painting techniques was the only way to resolve the chaos of the modern Chinese art world, which was beset by conflicts between traditional Chinese painting and French academic painting.
