Year: 2015
Material/Technique: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 258 x 1281 cm

Lin started developing a reputation in the late 1990s for his use of vast expanse of bold flowers, a visual motif that is characteristic of the endemic culture of Taiwan. His floral patterns, imitating embroideries that would typically adorn Taiwanese pillows, are inspired by the vicissitudes in the domestic and political climates of Taiwan felt by the artist when he returned to the region after many years abroad. Lin's work has associations with architecture, as he conceives of his art not merely as a piece of flat canvas, but as a space that the viewers can interact with and within.  Lin’s monumental painting installations repurpose painting from an object to painting as a bounded, physical space or a social environment. 

In Untitled Lin borrows an abstract collage composition from artist Sonia Delaunay’s breakthrough modernist quilt work to juxtapose two local patterns - a rigid crosshatch and an organic flower pattern.  These traditional textile patterns are united by a modern composition, which helps to bring popular and high culture into a complementary relationship as well as foreground Novartis’ emphasis on diversity and local culture.

Artist

Michael Lin (Tokyo 1964-) works and lives between Brussels, Shanghai, and his native Taiwan. His work is frequently associated with the philosophy of Relational Aesthetics or art that puts human relations and their social context at the center. He orchestrates monumental painting installations that re-conceptualize and reconfigure public spaces. Using patterns and designs appropriated from traditional Taiwanese textiles his works have been exhibited in major institutions and international Biennials worldwide including the Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; MoMA PS1, New York; Kunsthalle Wien, and the Vancouver Art Gallery, among others. He represented Taiwan at the 49th Venice Biennale and his work has been featured in a number of other international exhibitions such as the 2009 Biennale de Lyon, 2002 Liverpool Biennial, 7th Istanbul Biennial, and many more.

Lin is known for his use of bold flowers, a visual motif characteristic of Chinese folk culture, which he usually enlarges to architectural proportions. These works are sometimes painted directly on walls and floors to become environments in which social interaction can take place.