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artist report

Isaac Tin Wei Lin

            Isaac Tin Wei Lin is a current Philadelphia artist who was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1976 to Henry Ai Hen Lin and Lydia Chao Yun Lin.  He is an only child and the first in his family to be born in the USA.  Isaac received a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design.  He also received his MFA from the California College of the arts.  In 2005 he was a residency participant at the Skowhegan School of painting and sculpture.

Lin designed a wall mural in the Chinatown section of Philadelphia named Peaceable Kingdom Isaiah 11:6-9.   Isaac currently has an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  He is part of a temporary exhibit called: Here and Now: Prints, Drawings, and Photography By Ten Philadelphia Artists. This exhibit continues through December 4, 2011. 

                        His work consists of prints, sculptures, and installations that have layers of calligraphy, cartoons, color, and patterns.  He uses very vibrant colors in his work that reflect the urban graffiti world.  When I saw Isaac’s art I was surprised by the feeling of chaos I felt when viewing the repeating, overlapping patterns of crazy lines and colors.  He over saturates his space with his art that seems to hit you in the face when you first see it.  His artwork sprawls across the walls to the ceiling and onto the floor. 

Life-sized cartoon cats are part of his collection that shows a humorous side of Lin.  I couldn’t help but feel the energy in his work as I walked around the exhibit.  Isaac also uses family and found photographs as part of his artwork.  He paints over these photos to create unique pieces. One photograph shows Lin’s father with his face blocked out with paint.  This represents Lin’s grief after his father’s death.

            I enjoy Isaac’s work because of his use of bright colors and urban street art style.  I also use the same graffiti style and calligraphy patterns in some of my own artwork.  

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