Eleen Lin finds inspiration at cultural intersections, drawing from her background as a "third culture kid," Lin's work cannibalizes cultural references, identities, folklore and literature creating contemporized cross cultural narratives.
Born in 1982 in Taiwan and raised in Thailand, Eleen Lin received a Bachelor's in Fine Art in Painting in 2005 from Slade School of Fine Art and University College London in England before earning a Master's in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University School of Art in 2008. Lin began exhibiting in 2003 with a solo exhibition at Gallery 543 m3 at the Academy of Fine Art in Vienna, Austria. As an artist, Lin's work has been recognized internationally with exhibitions at Srinakarinwirot University Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand (2004), Yunlin University of Science and Technology in Taiwan (2006), Gwangju Museum of Art in Korea (2007), Guangdong Museum of Art in China (2007), SaLon Gallery and Olympia Exhibition Center in London (2008), Thierry Goldberg Projects in New York (2008), Yale University Green Art Gallery (2008), Roher Fine Art in Los Angeles (2008), Taichung City Cultural Affairs Bureau in Taiwan (2012), Queens Museum of Art (2012), ArtSpace 64 in New York (2013), Deutsche Bank Art in New York (2015), and Emerson Dorsch in Miami (2021). Lin's work can also be found in collections around the world including, the Jimenez-Colon Collection and MSKCC Art Collection in the US, International Baccalaureate Organization in the United Kingdom, Starland Museum in Beijing, Hsinchu Art Museum, Yunlin University Art Center, and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan. As an artist she has also been the recipient of awards such as the Queen Arts Fund from the Queens Council of Arts, NYFA Immigrant Artist Projects, Rancho Linda Vista Artist Residency, The Fountainhead Residency, Artist in Marketplace from the Bronx Museum of Art, and the Elizabeth Canfield Hicks Award from Yale University School of Art.
Influenced by living at the meeting point of multiple cultures, Lin who was born in Taiwan, raised in Thailand, and educated between England and the United States, investigates the limitations of translation and representation within different cultures and areas. Her work deals with memory and diasporic challenges that influence understandings of the world. Her paintings are a cumulative journal that portrays the loss of cultural boundaries but are also meant to celebrate how the globalized world brings us closer together to create a collective consciousness shared across cultural divides.