This spring the Philadelphia Museum of Art is presenting an exhibition of new work by Shelley Spector. The Philadelphia-based artist creates a site specific installation consisting of sculptures from reclaimed wood and textiles, furniture parts and other recycled materials. Some of the free-standing works resemble trees, while others are suspended from the ceiling. Spector’s work explores ways in which basic symbols, motifs, and patterns are recorded in objects, passed from person to person, and transmitted. Embedded in the artist’s work are many allusions to symbols common to Pennsylvania German, Indian and Jewish folk art. A lifelong resident of Philadelphia, Spector is an artist and mentor for emerging talent who attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the University of the Arts, where she currently teaches. Her sculptures, paintings, and works on paper, notable for their innovative use of found materi
