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.