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Isaac Tin Wei Lin

b. 1976; lives and works Philadelphia, PA

Available Works

Isaac Tin Wei Lin explores the realm where representation and buzzing abstraction meet. His surfaces are often densely covered in calligraphic, brushed and hand-drawn patterns that express both the logic and complexity of written language. Lin's dense calligraphy—a kind of graffiti in which comprehensible lettering gives way to pure form—evoke patterns and structures found in nature. His abstraction brings to mind single cell organisms, entangling kudzu vines, DNA helices, and pulsating constellations all rendered in effervescing colors. Working across painting, screenprinting, collage, installation, and mural-making, Lin also collaborates with other artists and photographers in creating hybrid works.

 

Lin has had solo exhibitions at the Asian Arts Initiative, the Print Center, Fleisher/Ollman, and Gallery 543 at URBN (all in Philadelphia); Park Life, Queen’s Nails Annex, Woodward Flats, RVCA, and Needles and Pens (all in San Francisco); and Lamp Harajuku, Tokyo. Lin participated with the DFW collective in Arts Le Havre, 2012 Contemporary Art Biennial, France. He has been featured in group exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Institute of Contemporary Art, Fleisher/Ollman, Painted Bride Arts Center, and the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art (all in Philadelphia); the Hole, Bravin Lee, and Franklin Parrasch (all in New York); MASS Gallery, Austin; Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; Somerset House, London, UK; and Scooters for Peace, Tokyo, among others. Lin has been commissioned to paint several large-scale murals, including three through Mural Arts Philadelphia; a multi-story stairway mural for Facebook's headquarters in San Francisco; and a thirteen-story mural in Heerlen, the Netherlands, commissioned by Stichting Street Art Foundation. His work is in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Berkeley Art Museum, and the Free Library of Philadelphia. 



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Works

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Exhibitions

2021

2020

2018

2017

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

Publications

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Cave Paintings

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DFWxCHOI LIN QUARANTINE 2020

News

Delaware Art Museum Family-in-Residence

Isaac Tin Wei Lin and Melissa Choi, along with their son, Teo, redesigned the Kids’ Corner at the Delaware Art Museum during their 2023–24 residency.

Mar 10, 2024

Link

Isaac Tin Wei Lin / Time Lines: First Words

Temple Contemporary
Philadelphia, PA
Aug 30–Dec 9, 2023

Isaac Tin Wei Lin
(solo)

Aug 23, 2023

Download PDF
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Negotiating Grids

Isaac Tin Wei Lin

(group)

 

Pennsylvania Academy of the FIne Arts
Philadelphia, PA
Jul 8–Dec 31, 2022

 

image: Fragmentary Bliss, 2021Acrylic and airbrush ink on panel

Jul 08, 2022

Link
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Platform, March 2022

Isaac Tin Wei Lin

online
Mar 1–Mar 31, 2022

Mar 01, 2022

Link
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Primary Prism

Permanent mural installation by Isaac Tin Wei Lin, co-commissioned by the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation for The Annenberg Center, University of Pennsylvania

 

Photo: Jaime Álvarez

Feb 15, 2022

Link
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Dear John

(group)

Adams and Ollman
Portland, OR
Mar 19–Apr 17, 2021

In collaboration with JTT and Fleisher/Ollman

 

James Castle, Isaac Tin Wei Lin, Becky Suss

Mar 19, 2021

Link
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DFW – Please Touch Museum

Isaac Tin Wei Lin
(group)

Scooters for Peace
Tokyo, Japan
Nov 2 – Nov 30, 2019

Nov 01, 2019

Link
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Primary Dispersion

New mural by Isaac Lin at 421 N. 7th St, Philadelphia, in collaboration with Mural Arts.

Nov 03, 2018

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Isaac Tin Wei Lin: Alignment

Needles and Pens
San Francisco, CA

Opening reception:
Saturday, October 6, 2018, 6–9pm

 

Isaac Lin

Oct 01, 2018

Link
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Press for Cryptopictos

“Galleries: Chaos and cryptic meanings”
Edith Newhall in The Philadelphia Inquirer

 

Isaac Tin Wei Lin, Patrick Maguire, Reed Anderson, Sarah Walker

Apr 23, 2017

Link
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Isaac Tin Wei Lin: Chromatic Intercession

July 16–August 15, 2015
Adams and Ollman
Portland, OR

Jul 16, 2015

Link
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Isaac Tin Wei Lin: Open Light

RVCA Gallery
1485 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
Oct 24, 2014–Jan 6, 2015

Oct 15, 2014

Link
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Isaac Tin Wei Lin Mural at Facebook

Isaac Tin Wei Lin recently completed a multi-story mural commission at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, CA.

Apr 09, 2014

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Isaac Tin Wei Lin solo show at Park Life, San Francisco

Isaac Tin Wei Lin: Last Words
July 20 through August 19, 2012
Park Life
220 Clement Street
San Francisco

Jul 24, 2012

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Isaac Tin Wei Lin at the Print Center, Philadelphia

Gallery artist Isaac Lin's site-specific installation, One of Us, transforms the upstairs gallery at the Print Center into a sea of patterned prints and larger-than-life-sized, free-standing painted cutouts. The show runs from September 7 to November 20, 2010, with a reception on Thursday, September 16 from 5:30–7:30pm.

The Print Center
1614 Latimer Street, Philadelphia

Sep 09, 2010

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Isaac Lin in ARTnews

Gallery artist Isaac Lin's show at Fleisher/Ollman, "A Place Near Here" was reviewed in ARTnews' May 2010 issue. Download the review here.

May 17, 2010

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1026 recap in New York

Gallery artist Isaac Lin will be showing in 'Indexiphilia' at BravinLee programs in New York, opening July 20th. The show features works on paper from members of the venerable Philadelphia collective Space 1026, and the website features helpful, extensive history and statements from the collective. We look forward to large collaborations with Lin and Space 1026 in the 2007-2008 season.

bravinlee.com

Jul 13, 2007

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