Lee Somers

Lee Somers is a ceramic and mixed media artist. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Montevallo in Alabama. He studied at Alfred University, where he received his BFA and MFA.

Somers’ work is influenced by his interest in landscape, geology and architecture. [1] His work employs collage to understand intersections of space and culture, and references the Chinese landscape tradition.  

“The work explores the landscape as a function of the imagination rather than a factual reality. These dreamlands reference the experience of place as an intersection of natural, cultural and personal histories. I am drawn to places where this confluence is evident. In travel, landforms come in and out of focus, horizons shift and tilt, and the stream of time is cut open, reorganized and compressed. Such moments give me pause, light my imagination with questions and musings. It is an exciting place to be, right at the intersection between what is and all that has been. My understanding of this place is fragmented, and my collection of fragments provides a material analogue, a space to play with notions of the aesthetic and sublime experience of landscape.” [2]

Somers has exhibited in numerous institutions nationally and internationally. His work is included in collections at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, the Shanghai Craft Museum in China and the United States Embassy in Beijing, China, among others. [3] 

For more information on Lee Somers, visit his website http://leesomers.com/.

[1] "Lee Somers," University of Montevallo Art Faculty and Staff, https://www.montevallo.edu/academics/colleges/college-of-fine-arts/departments/department-of-art/art-faculty-staff/lee-somers/.

[2] Lee Somers, Artist Statement, Burchfield Penney Artist File. 

[3] Lee Somers, Artist Resume, Burchfield Penney Artist File.