Brilliant City

Michael Lin’s (b. 1964, Japan) monumental paintings and site-specific installations aim to reshape the viewer's perception of public spaces. Using patterns and designs appropriated from regional cultures, his work transforms the architecture it inhabits, and reflects present-day sociopolitical concerns. Lin’s works Forever Shanghai (2018), Huashan Road (2016), and Urumqi Road (2016) reference and reflect upon Forever (Yongjiu)—China’s oldest bicycle brand. The bicycles (which Lin reassembled himself) are both nostalgic objects and symbols of the country’s economic and cultural revival. As Aimee Lin notes in ArtReview, "For many people in [Shanghai], the Forever bike recalls the memory of the socialist and collective era of China back to decades ago when bikes were the dominant means of transportation and the country was called the kingdom of bicycles; for Lin, who uses a Forever bicycle as a means of transportation in his daily life, the bike is basic equipment and an artistic instrument that facilitates his continuous interest in urban mobility." His recent solo exhibitions were held at Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul (2010); Taipei Fine Arts Museum (2015); Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Manila, Philippines (2016); and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2017), among others. Lin currently lives and works in Taipei, Shanghai, and Brussels.