What Lies Beneath: Lee Cummings

May 19, 2017 – September 2, 2017

In What Lies Beneath, Maine-based artist Lee Cummings creates an immersive, exuberant ceramic environment. The central installation, composed of over 300 individually sculpted forms, is inspired by an array of marine species. The stark white porcelain elements, ranging from one inch to three feet, take the form of urchins, tube worms, coral and other sea dwellers.  The collective grouping of sculptures invite both macro and micro views of what lies beneath the ocean’s surface.

For the artist, the sheer quantity of unique, wondrous forms brought together reflect a “sea that is about abundance wherever life can get a foothold.” Cummings invites the viewer to contemplate the wonders of the natural world filtered through a process of creative spontaneity. Adding to the experience is the interplay of shadows created by the diverse undulating forms that inhabit floor and wall.