"There's No Fun in It," the largest retrospective of artist Lin Tianmiao to date, has officially opened.
This major research-based exhibition – the most comprehensive of Lin's career – revolves around keywords such as "body" and "everyday objects".
More than 40 representative works from different periods have been selected from both museum and private collections in China and abroad, tracing and re-presenting over three decades of her artistic practice.
Zhu Yile
Event poster outside the exhibition area
Since the 1990s, Lin has been recognized as one of the first artists in China to articulate a contemporary gender consciousness through her unique artistic language.
Her work weaves together personal, social, and cultural themes, with the "body" – the point of intersection between self and the outside world – as a central focus. The body, in Lin's practice, embodies both inner sensibility and self-reflection.
The exhibition title, "There's No Fun in It," is borrowed from a 1997 work of the same name. That year marked Lin's return to Beijing after nearly a decade in New York, opening a new chapter in her creative journey.
Recurring visual motifs such as "nets" and "spheres" reappear here and offer new interpretive possibilities.
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There's No Fun in It: Lin Tianmiao's 1997 work that gives the exhibition its title.
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Braided Hair (1998): A monumental self-portrait by Lin created with countless strands of thread that blur the individual features, leaving only the shared human form (from the front of the work).
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Braided Hair (1998), from the back of the work
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Man and Dog: Exploring the complex bond between humans and animals – the figure of a man lies flat while dogs sniff on either side, both covered by web-like threads that evoke intimacy mixed with tension.
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Meanwhile, the keywords "slang" and "waste" guide viewers toward the hidden systems of expression embedded in language and behavior. Many of Lin's works originate from everyday words and phrases, and these subtle details of daily life form the emotional foundation of the exhibition.
A highlight of the exhibition is Lin's latest commissioned work, Little Things 小人国 (2025).
Based on the concept of "architecture in the mind", this large-scale installation fills a 350-square-meter gallery with nearly one hundred fleshy, body-like mechanical devices. With their organic, skin-toned forms, the machines move blindly through the space, engaging in endless, aimless interactions.
Zhu Yile
Zhu Yile
Walls covered with colorful vertical strips of slang words
If you go:
Date: September 30, 2025-January 4, 2026
Venue: Power Station of Art | 上海当代艺术博物馆
Address: 5/F, 678 Miaojiang Rd | 苗江路678号5楼
Admission: Free
2026-03-06
