Jean Shin is an internationally recognized artist who works with multiples of objects to transform the everyday into decadent interpretations of identity and community. She uses materials that range from prescription pill bottles to sweaters\, and often obtains them as secondhand objects from people in participating communities. These objects transform into her media and become complex\, conceptual\, and beautifully intricate works of sculpture. Her work is distinguished by her labor-intensive process\, and these breathtaking installations seem to capture the essence of communal and societal issues that everyone faces in their day-to-day life.
Born in Seoul\, South Korea\, and raised in the United States\, Shin attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1999 and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Science from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn\, New York. Her work has been widely exhibited in more than 150 major national and international museums\, including in solo exhibitions at the Crow Collection in Dallas\, Texas; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona; Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington\, DC; the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia\, Pennsylvania; and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Shin has received numerous awards and has been featured in a multitude of publications worldwide. In 2016\, Shin completed a major commission for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York at the 63rd Street Station on the new Second Avenue subway line\, as well as a public art commission for the city of Seattle\, Washington. She lives and works in New York City.