LEGO has recently released a number of sets in LEGO Art series. Each set is designed to create an image which consist of multiple of tiny 1x1 round plates or 1x1 tiles and has plenty of extra parts to create one of several alternative images.

Example with Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe (31197)

Included pieces seen above allow you to make one of 4 iconic images:

Same goes with Star Wars The Sith (31200)

Three copies of this set allows you to create another much larger version:

You could take a look at other non-LEGO brands targeting AFOLs. These can be more affordable, but also may be of a different quality.

I would think that the best way for adults to embrace LEGO (if you know basic coding) would to get into the Mindstorms and maybe build complex moving structures.

Yes. LEGO® may still be a toy, but it clearly a toy for all ages. Here are two examples:

LEGO Architecture

LEGO Architecture is clearly aimed at adults.

From one of LEGO's press releases:

With models developed in collaboration with architects, LEGO Architecture inspires future architects, engineers and designers as well as architecture fans around the world using the LEGO brick as a medium for reproducing esteemed structures. Fans of all ages can collect and construct iconic architectural sites, including: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater, the Space Needle in Seattle, the Willis Tower and John Hancock Center in Chicago, New York’s Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center, The White House in Washington, D.C., Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois and the Burj Kalifa in Dubai. Each LEGO Architecture set contains a booklet featuring step-by-step building instructions that is prefaced by exclusive, archival history, information and photographs of each iconic building, its design origin, its architect and its architectural features.

I'm sure there are some young architects out there, but this level of depth is more typical of adults.

Serious Play

LEGO has also a corporate-focused play for adults called LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®

Build a better workshop with the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® program!

The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® program is a radical and innovative process designed to enhance business performance through building with LEGO bricks.

As you indicate yourself, the best answers regarding your question and current LEGO are already given in the other post. If you are not restricted by "current LEGO", I know of two more options:

1. You might want to look at Nanoblocks which, while still a children's toy, has smaller bricks and a different color pallette. I don't know much about the quality of Nanoblocks - the plastic does seem cheaper than LEGO's.

2. Another option is to look at Modulex, but you cannot find new sets as this line of LEGO bricks was only produced briefly from 1963 to 1965**. It was designed for adults (more specifically: for architects) as a system to build models of existing and planned buildings. Bricks are smaller, and have a different geometry (1:1 vs 5:6 for LEGO). Buying Modulex is expensive due to the limited production run and the fact that the last Modulex was produced 50 years ago. Bricklink does have Modulex items available for sale though, so you might find this something worth investigating further. There is a (not really updated) website for Modulex fans at MiniBricksMadness.

_{(source: minibricksmadness.com)}

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**) Modulex continued to be produced until the early 1980s in limited quantities by Modulex A/S, as per this article(PDF)