Home Bound in Wood, Steel, and Clay presents new and recent works by Philadelphia-based artist Syd Carpenter, whose practice explores memory, heritage, and the profound importance of land. On view at the Berman Museum of Art in January 2026, the exhibition coincides with major surveys of Carpenter’s work at the Frances M. Maguire Museum and Woodmere, offering a landmark look at her evolving practice.
For more than a decade, Carpenter has researched and documented the histories of African American farmers across the South, embedding their stories into sculptures that transform familiar forms—clothespins, barns, vessels—into powerful symbols of resilience, creativity, and continuity. Her recent work reflects a striking expansion in scale and material, informed by new collaborations and an increasing ambition of vision.
Highlights include Mother Pin Ascending (2025), a six-foot-tall wooden clothespin reimagined as a totemic monument to female lineage, and Home Places (2025), an immersive installation built from a steel shed that incorporates sound, light, and moving image to honor the endurance of Black agricultural traditions. Carpenter also debuts a series of multimedia prints created during her Brandywine Workshop residency, further evidence of her restless experimentation. Together, these works affirm Carpenter’s place as a vital voice in contemporary art and cultural memory.
Home Bound in Wood, Steel, and Clay will be held in conjunction with two other major exhibitions on Syd Carpenter, including:
Re-Union: Syd Carpenter, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Judy Moonelis, Sana Musasama, and Winnie Owens Hart, January 14 - March 29, 2026, at the Frances M. Maguire Museum at St. Joseph’s University
Syd Carpenter: Planting in Place, Time and Memory, January 24 - May 24, 2026 on view at the Woodmere Art Museum.
