Draft:Laura Spector
| Submission declined on 2 May 2025 by BuySomeApples (talk). This submission is not adequately supported by reliable sources. Reliable sources are required so that information can be verified. If you need help with referencing, please see Referencing for beginners and Citing sources.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
|  |
Comment: This page seems to meet WP:NARTIST, there's just some unsourced information that either needs to be referenced or removed. BuySomeApples (talk) 10:36, 1 May 2025 (UTC)
- Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest policy, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Lauramakesart (talk) 17:58, 30 April 2025 (UTC)
 | This is a draft article. It is a work in progress open to editing by anyone. Please ensure core content policies are met before publishing it as a live Wikipedia article. Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL Last edited by BuySomeApples (talk | contribs) 1 second ago. (Update)
Finished drafting? or |
Laura Spector | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Visual artist |
| Known for | Museum Anatomy, Personal Stories, Art Immersion programs |
| Website | LauraSpector.com |
Laura Spector (born 1973) is an American visual artist based in Houston, Texas. She is best known for Museum Anatomy, an internationally exhibited photographic series created using water-based theatrical makeup to recreate lost or stolen classical paintings on the human body.[1] The project expanded into Museum Anatomy – Heist, in which she reinterprets stolen and destroyed artworks onto figure casts using oil paint. In addition to her collaborative work, Spector creates narrative acrylic paintings inspired by vintage aesthetics and organizes global Art Immersion programs.
Career
[edit]Spector first gained international attention through Museum Anatomy, a collaborative project with artist Chadwick Gray. The series involves recreating paintings lost to war, censorship, or theft by painting them with theatrical makeup directly onto the human body. The painted bodies are then photographed to produce a hybrid of classical art, performance, and photography. Select works also reinterpret lost imagery in oil on sculptural body casts.[2]
The project received broad media coverage including features in The Guardian, Fast Company, La Repubblica, CBC, Yahoo, BBC Portuguese, and Houston Public Media.[3] It has been cited in Harvard Design Magazine and Wendy Steiner’s book The Real Real Thing: The Model in the Mirror of Art.[4]
In 1996, a solo exhibition in Prague led to Spector and Gray becoming the first artists censored in the Czech Republic since the Velvet Revolution.[5]
In 2016, Spector was invited to reinterpret Lucas Cranach’s The Lord’s Vineyard altarpiece at AtelierHaus Hilmsen in Germany. The resulting work, The Divide, reflects the original’s controversial symbolism. The original was commissioned by Martin Luther and ordered destroyed by the Pope, leading to a church being burned; it survives today in the Friedrich Danneil Museum in Salzwedel.
In 2026, she is scheduled to exhibit Museum Anatomy – War, inspired by the looted collection of the Kherson Art Museum in Ukraine. During the Russian occupation in 2022, over 14,000 artworks were stolen. Spector’s series reimagines stories and images lost to war.
Her contemporary series, Personal Stories, painted in acrylic and influenced by turn-of-the-century French poster art, explores identity, technology, grief, and transformation. It was exhibited at Georgetown Art Center and is scheduled for The Jung Center Houston in October 2025.[6]
In 2022, she curated the group exhibition (w)Hole, exploring grief and healing through collaborative text and performance. Voice actors included Doug Cockle (The Witcher) and Elizabeth Bunch (Alley Theatre).
From 2004–2012, Spector lived in Thailand, where she founded ArtSpace Chiang Mai, the country’s first community arts center. She organized classes, live performances, and a legacy K–12 exhibition program supported by international embassies. The program continues at the Chiang Mai Museum.
Spector also leads international Art Immersion programs for adult artists combining cultural study, en plein air painting, and workshops. Past destinations include Florence, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, the South of France, Japan, and Chicago—with upcoming trips to New York City and Prague.
Awards and Residencies
[edit]- Joan Mitchell Center Residency, New Orleans
- New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
- Houston Arts Alliance Individual Artist Grants (twice awarded)
- McGovern Medical School Ethics and Humanities Residency, Houston
- AtelierHaus Hilmsen Residency, Germany
Recognition and Collections
[edit]Spector’s work has been exhibited internationally and is held in private and institutional collections. Her projects have appeared in print, broadcast, and academic media in more than a dozen countries. Her interdisciplinary practice blends historical research, conceptual art, and painterly execution.
References
[edit]- ^ Frank, Priscilla (December 18, 2012). "Body Painting Artists Recreate 19th Century Paintings on the Human Body". HuffPost. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ^ Tommaney, Susie (June 27, 2018). "Arts Review: Chadwick and Spector's Museum Anatomy – The German Works". Houston Press. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ^ Hagerty, Michael (June 8, 2018). "Stolen Paintings From Nazi Germany Reinterpreted as Body Art". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ^ Steiner, Wendy (Fall–Winter 2009). "The Joy of Less". Harvard Design Magazine. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ^ He, Samuel (October 13, 2008). "Unique Body of Art Going for US$100,000". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ^ Kalil, Susie (2018). "Visual Art Source – Museum Anatomy". Visual Art Source. Retrieved 2025-04-30.