Soo Shin (B. 1981) holds and encapsulates the poetic gestures of bodies and their traces through sculpture. Working in ceramic, brass, concrete, and steel, she examines the realties of distance, displacement, yearning, connection, and loss. Her process often begins with written poetry, words, or terms, which are then formed into sculpture through the placement - geographically and physically - of her own body and gestures. Over the years, Shin’s sculptures have extended beyond her own physicality, to explore cultural systems that affect immigrant bodies – from the forms of the migrant laborer’s to vessels for communion with other selves and versions of home. Shin received a Master in Fine Arts from School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Master in Fine Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Ewha Woman’s University, Seoul, South Korea.

Shin received a Master in Fine Arts from School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Master in Fine Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Ewha Woman’s University, Seoul, South Korea. She lives and works in Chicago, IL.

SELECT Exhibitions

• (An) Anthology of The Ocean, The Luminary, St. Louis, MO, 2024

• We, Dandelions, PATRON, Chicago, IL, 2022

• The Body of A Dreamer, PATRON, Chicago, IL, 2021

• Skin in the Game, curated by Zoe Lukov, Chicago, IL, 2022

• Paths between Two Steps, Goldfinch Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2020

Selected Residencies & Awards

• Djerassi Resident Artist Program, Woodside, CA, 2024

• Arts and Industry Foundry, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI, 2021

• John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI, 2018

• Artist in The Studios, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA, 2017

• Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT

• Ox-Bo, Saugatuck, MI

• Vilcheck Foundation Fellowship, MacDowell Colony Artist Residency, Peterborough, NH