Llew Summers (1947) was born in New Zealand. In 1971 he held his first exhibition of 27 works, and held many one-man shows as well as exhibiting alongside other artists including: Tony Fomison, Fatu Feu’u, Michael Smither, Tom Mutch, Peter Carson, Roger Hickin, Bing Dawe and Graham Bennett.
His use of religious symbolism developed following a formative and revelatory overseas trip in 1999. It was first manifest through a series of icons and shrines comprising crosses, hearts and lights. It then led to a fertile preoccupation with winged forms, most often, but not exclusively, attached to bodies. These angels are an obvious melding of the human and the divine – bringing an explicitly spiritual element to his work and highlighting the important role of morality, and the spiritual dimension of human existence.
“What’s important to me is to get a balance between the physical and the spiritual in life. We’re given a soul and we’re given a body. Sculpture is a nice balance because works can be made which are deep and meaningful, but they require your physical body to produce them. Works must have soul, rather than being merely clever or smart.”
In 2000 he was commissioned to carve a set of Stations of the Cross for the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch. His depiction of the crucified Christ caused some controversy (to which he was no stranger) due to Christ being naked. The Stations inspired the writer Bernadette Hall to write a series of poems, or meditations, and these were published, along with images of the works, in a book: The Way of the Cross. The Stations and Hall's poems in turn became the inspiration for New Zealand composer Anthony Ritchie's fourth symphony, Opus 171, Stations. The work was written for the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and was dedicated to those who suffered in the major earthquakes that hit Christchurch in 2010/2011.
Llew regularly participated in outdoor sculpture shows such as those held at the Auckland Botanic Gardens and Tai Tapu Sculpture Gardens, and his works are held in their permanent collections. His large sculptures can be seen in public spaces from Kaitaia to Wanaka and many localities in between, with Timaru having purchased its second large work, Encircling the Baroque in late 2017 – now installed in a prime location on the piazza of the Bay Hill, overlooking Caroline Bay.
A book on his life and work by John Newton, is now available, published by Canterbury University Press, with assistance from Creative New Zealand.
© 2020. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Llew Summers or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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Mr. Llew Summers
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Bowl
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Flight
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Front row forward
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Landscape woman
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Mercury
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The angel above
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Butterfly
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Follow me
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Each to his Own
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Heaven of Douls
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Lead On
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Overcome by the angel
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Perch
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Poor Tom o' bedlam
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The hand that nurtures
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To the end of love
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Tranquility
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Ariel
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Ecce Homo: Behold the man
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Force of nature
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Hope with wings II
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As a falling leaf
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Boogie Woogie Night
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Encircling the Baroque
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Euphony
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Freed spirit
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Hope with Wings
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Joy of eternal spring
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Lorna
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Medaillons
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Rolling soul
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Sprung man
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Up and over
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Whimsy
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