Bio

William Mark Sommer is a visual artist creating along and through America's Highways. Embracing spontaneity within an intuitive practice along the road, Sommer seeks to engage and come together with these spaces that were bypassed by society, much like his hometown of Loomis, California. In creating photographic works through the road, Sommer seeks to bring attention to the left behind to promote preservation and love of these unique people and rural spaces.Through Sommer's practice within analog photography, he has earned a BFA in Art Photography from Arizona State University and traversed the United States developing multiple projects that engage with themes of human nature, preservation, empathy and time. Through Sommer’s fifteen years of creating expansive photographic projects, he has utilized a democratic perspective of exhibition; sharing works through an open and unbiased way in community exhibitions, museum exhibitions, public displays, social media and the book form. Through these many differing forms of exhibition, Sommer has cherished the communal experience of art and its ability to create change, influence and develop interest for many. Sommer has exhibited and taken part projects across North America and Europe; venues including, The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum, Center For Fine Art Photography, Masur Museum of Art, Griffen Museum of Photography, Yellowstone Museum of Art, Center For Photography, Midwest Center for Photographic Art, Belfast Photo Festival, Incadaques International Photo Festival, Northlight Gallery, His awards include Life Framer’s First Prize Award Selected by Alex Prager and British Journal of Photography & 1854 Media “Open Walls” and “Decade of Change,” refocus Awards Color Award “3rd Overall,” and a first place in the Still Life Category of the 2023 Chromatic Awards; Sommer has also taken part in residencies with Chalk Hill in Sonoma, CA, Open Wabi, Fredericktown, Ohio and Off The Cost, Online; He has been featured in publications like Lenscratch, Another-Earth, Stay Wild magazine, Lodown Magazine, Aint Bad, Booooooom, C41 magazine, Nowhere Diary, Fiiiirst and Subjectively Objective.