Lin Guocheng (b.1979, Guangdong Province) is a Chinese artist known for his amazing ink landscapes drawn with pen. Lin attended Sichuan Fine Arts Institute between 2002 and 2003 after withdrawing from high school. He currently works and lives in Beijing and Kunming.
Lin's unique language embraces the artistic traditions of the East and the West, and challenges the integration and collision of those two systems. On one hand, the artist’s exquisite ink pen technique originates from his passion for European medieval and Renaissance art, especially Michelangelo's sketches and Albrecht Dürer's engravings. On the other hand, Lin has a profound understanding of Chinese philosophies and literati paintings with particular admiration for the works by Shi Tao, Chen Hongshou, and Dong Yuan. Fully absorbing the strengths of both systems, the artist explores the possibility of combining pen and Chinese ink in the contemporary dimensions. The fluidic Qi — the circulating life force — is always present in Lin’s work. Through the rich techniques of literati painting and its pursuit of the spirit, the repetitively dense pen strokes become vital, unpredictable, and full of room for imagination, giving the final works spontaneity, momentum, and interesting details as well.
Lin’s work has been featured in exhibitions at multiple galleries and art institutions including Macdonald Stewart Art Center, Canada; David Aaron Gallery, London; Chinese Cultural Center, Malta; Galerie Dumonteil, Paris and Shanghai, 3812 Gallery, Hong Kong; Today Art Museum, Beijing; Hubei Museum of Fine Art, Hubei; Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangdong, etc. His work has been collected by private collectors from North America, Europe and Asia, including organizations such as the Art Institute of Chicago, U.S; Macdonald Stewart Art Center, Canada; M K Lau Collection, Hong Kong; Yiqingzhai Collection, Hong Kong; HSBC Art Collection; and MGM Resorts Fine Art Collection etc.
Lin's unique language embraces the artistic traditions of the East and the West, and challenges the integration and collision of those two systems. On one hand, the artist’s exquisite ink pen technique originates from his passion for European medieval and Renaissance art, especially Michelangelo's sketches and Albrecht Dürer's engravings. On the other hand, Lin has a profound understanding of Chinese philosophies and literati paintings with particular admiration for the works by Shi Tao, Chen Hongshou, and Dong Yuan. Fully absorbing the strengths of both systems, the artist explores the possibility of combining pen and Chinese ink in the contemporary dimensions. The fluidic Qi — the circulating life force — is always present in Lin’s work. Through the rich techniques of literati painting and its pursuit of the spirit, the repetitively dense pen strokes become vital, unpredictable, and full of room for imagination, giving the final works spontaneity, momentum, and interesting details as well.
Lin’s work has been featured in exhibitions at multiple galleries and art institutions including Macdonald Stewart Art Center, Canada; David Aaron Gallery, London; Chinese Cultural Center, Malta; Galerie Dumonteil, Paris and Shanghai, 3812 Gallery, Hong Kong; Today Art Museum, Beijing; Hubei Museum of Fine Art, Hubei; Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangdong, etc. His work has been collected by private collectors from North America, Europe and Asia, including organizations such as the Art Institute of Chicago, U.S; Macdonald Stewart Art Center, Canada; M K Lau Collection, Hong Kong; Yiqingzhai Collection, Hong Kong; HSBC Art Collection; and MGM Resorts Fine Art Collection etc.