Tokyo Gallery + BTAP is pleased to present the solo exhibition "Thus I Have Heard" by Chinese artist Lin Yusi at both its Tokyo and Beijing spaces. The Beijing space will run the exhibition from June 28 to August 30, 2025. The Tokyo space will host the exhibition from July 5 to August 9, 2025, marking Lin Yusi's first solo show in Japan.
This exhibition, "Thus I Have Heard," is a retrospective that seeks to trace the artist’s personal growth and creative trajectory. The title is taken from a Buddhist scripture, and means "thus have I heard," a phrase that symbolizes Lin’s approach towards reexamining the world through his own life and art. Growing up at a time when communication technology had barely developed, Lin obtained much of his information "by ear" as a child. The "stories he heard" and legends told to him by adults became the source of his visual images, and exerted a profound influence on his creations. Lin draws on such memories to fashion invisible, fantastic narratives with delicate brushstrokes, continuing to question the essential nature of art by practicing both ancient and modern techniques with his own hands. For him, the boundary between fiction and reality is part and parcel of life, while art should exist within the context of an accumulation of daily exploration and experimentation.
Making the most of the distinctive characteristics of his materials, such as the absorbency of the xuan paper, the pliability of his brushes, and the fluidity of ink, Lin Yusi’s work deploys a diverse range of techniques and a rich, fertile imagination to create a "new ink" mode of artistic expression that transcends time and language. Even as it is rooted in tradition, his stance towards dialogue with the new world embodies certain new trends within the constantly shifting context of East Asian art.
