Lin Yusi was born in 1978 in Guangdong, China. In 2002, he graduated from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and later became a teacher at the academy. Lin currently lives and works in Guangzhou. His first solo exhibition “Burst with Joy” took place at Guangzhou Muma Art Space in 2008 and since then Lin has held solo exhibitions every year in art institutions across the nation, including “Trance” at Wilber’s Gallery (2012), “Viva Primitive” at Alioth Art Center (2015) and “The Feast” at Kui Yuan Gallery (2018). Lin’s first solo museum exhibition “Running Wildly at Night” took place at Guangdong Museum of Art in 2017. Lin has participated in numerous international exhibitions, including “Fracture Surface” in Budapest and “Le Salon d’Automne” in Paris.
Lin Yusi is widely regarded as one of the most skillful young Chinese brush painters working today. Lin believes there are two governing principles to Chinese ink painting – expression of the soul and great techniques, and integration of the two creates meaningful and exceptional works of art. He is fascinated with Chinese classical myths and literature such as Strange Tales (聊齋) and the Anecdotes about Spirits and Immortals (搜神記). Lin works predominantly on conceptual fable painting, using a combination of the meticulous ‘gong bi’(工筆) and the freestyle “xie yi” (寫意) techniques to convey the traditional untraditionally. ‘Gong bi’ is a realist technique in Chinese painting that incorporates intricate details and vivid colors to portray narrative scenes, often featuring figures. “Xie yi” is also known as literati painting, which emphasizes the artist’s personal expression over accuracy and details.
