The career of Syd Carpenter, an accomplished Philadelphia-based artist known for her sculpture and ceramic work, spans five decades. Yet, to think of her work retrospectively is “emotional” for the artist.

“It’s just mind-blowing for me to think of myself in terms of ‘retro,’” Carpenter said.

However, the evolution of Carpenter’s artistic journey deserves to be honored — and that is exactly what Woodmere set out to do with its new exhibition. “Planting in Place, Time, and Memory” is a comprehensive retrospective of Carpenter’s influential 50-year career, with works that highlight her exploration of agriculture and land, the human body, and African American history.

The exhibit, which opened at Woodmere’s Charles Knox Smith Hall on Jan. 24 and runs through May 24, is part of a multi-site celebration of Carpenter’s work in Philadelphia. Additional exhibitions are displayed at the Frances M. Maguire Art Museum at St. Joseph’s University and the Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College.

Walking through the galleries at Woodmere to explore “Planting in Place, Time, and Memory” traces the story of Carpenter’s career from the 1970s to today. Born in Pittsburgh, Carpenter moved to Philadelphia at the age of 10. She attended Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture, where she experimented with clay as craft in the 1970s.

Her earliest works exhibited include large, textured pots. For Carpenter, these vessels were figurative, evoking anatomical parts such as a neck, belly, or foot. She later transitioned into sculpting distorted heads, referred to as nonspecified “children,” and big wall reliefs, wherein Carpenter examines the relationship between the wall and the form itself.

By the 1990s, Carpenter became a professor of studio art at Swarthmore College and also bought a house in Mt. Airy with her husband, Steve Donegan. She credits these two life changes with spurring her interest in gardening — Swarthmore’s Scott Arboretum provided inspiration, while the house in Mt. Airy came with a garden.

“My mother was a gardener, and her mother was a gardener,” Carpenter said. “I now had this little plot in West Mt. Airy on the corner and began to investigate the possibility of ‘What do I do with this space?’”

But Carpenter soon found there was a lack of “gardening companions,” or similar people interested in the hobby. Research led her to “African-American Gardens and Yards in the Rural South,” an anthropological book by Richard Westmacott. Carpenter was fascinated by the relationship between African Americans and the land.

“Let’s think about it: You’re an African American farmer in the Jim Crow South and everybody wants your stuff. How hard is it to keep it?” Carpenter said. “I think of these folks as heroes. They stayed on their land and subsequent generations stayed on their land. …When I would come across a multigenerational farm, I was very moved by what that presence meant.”

In 2012, Carpenter would travel to the Gullah Islands, South Carolina, and Georgia to visit many of these farms. Inspired by the agricultural traditions despite histories of enslavement and systemic displacement, Carpenter sculpted items such as tools, chairs, and ramshackle fences.

Many of Carpenter’s later works also involve familial ties. Her mother, Ernestine, is represented in many pieces as a clothespin, or a “mother pin.” The feminine shape of the pin as well as memories of her mother hanging laundry on a clothesline led Carpenter to utilize this homage. Reflecting on her mother’s life also makes Carpenter appreciative of her success.

“I think of [my mother] as an artist who did not get to live the life that I’m living,” Carpenter explained. “I always feel like I’m living her dream, which is amazing to me that I can do this.”

In addition, Carpenter’s late brother, Frank, is heavily featured in the exhibit. Frank was paralyzed from an injury during his military service, and Carpenter made deeply personal sculptures reflecting his character.

With all of the works displayed, Carpenter emphasizes animation and movement through her manipulation of clay.

“Clay, generally, is associated with weight and the necessity to stabilize. I decided, not necessarily,” Carpenter said. “I am always thinking about how to get [my sculptures] to shift and move because I think an important part of the encounter with the object is that you’re not supposed to know it from one position.”

Carpenter is pleased with her exhibit at Woodmere and the concurrent exhibits at Maguire and Berman.

“The idea that I have this opportunity — which as far as I know, is pretty unique — to have a retrospective that’s spread across three institutions and have it produced on the level that it has been produced, is humbling to say the least,” Carpenter said.

“Planting in Place, Time, and Memory” is open now through May 24 at Woodmere, 9201 Germantown Ave., Chestnut Hill. To learn more and see a full list of accompanying programming, visit woodmereartmuseum.org.

Maggie Dougherty can be reached at Margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com.