sue shu
We are becoming clouds
Opening Reception: Thursday, Mar 13, 6 – 9 pm
Exhibition on view: Mar 14 – 29, 2025
On view gallery hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 12 – 5pm, and by appointment by contacting xshu4187@usc.edu
Roski Graduate Gallery (Los Angeles Arts District) 1262 Palmetto St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
we are becoming clouds s a solo exhibition featuring installations created by Sue Shu during her two years in the MFA program at USC Roski School of Art and Design. Through her intimate engagement with materials such as copper, charcoal, cement, sugar, and natural fibers, Shu creates pieces that invite viewers to question the structures and hierarchies that shape their experiences of space.
Central to this body of work is the concept of waiting. Shu’s labor-intensive methods require patience, allowing time for materials to transform and react in natural ways. To wait is to hold a moment—for longing, hopefully and anxiously; for anticipating; for understanding; for processing. The artist prompts the audience to stay and linger with the works as they enter the gallery space, activating bodily sensations and delving into an abstract connectedness with their surroundings. Through this exhibition, Shu offers a path toward a more conscious, interconnected existence, where, like clouds, we remain in a state of constant, healing transformation.
Curated by Jiayi Hou
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sue Shu (she/her) was born in Shanghai, China. In 2023, Shu immigrated to the United States. She lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Shu is a process-based artist who creates multi-medium sculptures. She received her BFA in Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts in 2022 and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Southern California.
Shu is the recipient of a USC Roski Departmental Fellowship for her graduate studies and received the USC Roski Macomber Travel Award in 2024 to travel to Jingdezhen to research and learn techniques related to ramie fabric. Shu had her first solo show, When the Monster Speaks, in 2024 at Attom Gallery in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles. Her risograph zine is in the collection of Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (LACA).