Lin launched into the British art scene in 1959 with his first one-man exhibition at Gimpel Fils Gallery. Worked under the name of Lin Show Yu at the start of his career.
Born in Taiwan, Lin moved to England in 1952 and studied art and architecture at Regent Street Polytechnic. Success came quickly with exhibitions being secured at Gimpel Fils (1959, 1961 and 1964), Stone gallery Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (1960) and in 1966 he became a gallery artist for Marlborough Galleries.
An artist of international distinction, Lin has exhibited widely since his early career. In 1962, his work was included in 'Kompas 2' exhibition at Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Royal Marks Gallery, New York (1963), 'Documenta 3,' in Kassel, and 'Britische Malerei der Gegenwart,' at Kunstverein, Dusseldorf. Lin's work was exhibited in the Carnegie International Exhibition, Pittsburgh in 1964 (also 1967 prize winner).
Being a gallery artist for Marlborough Galleries further promoted Lin's work internationally throughout the 1970s. Additional venues for one-man exhibitions were; Rome, Zurich, 'Galerie Withofs,' Brussels, 'Gallery Loer,' Frankfurt.