Jessica Somers | Lesley University

Jessica has been in love with photography for most of her life. She was exposed to the act of picture making through her grandfather, an avid amateur photographer, and in the family bathroom-turned-darkroom after sunset. Here, her parents would allow her to witness actual magic as she stood over the chemical trays watching an image appear where only a simple white sheet of paper was before. As a kid, she received a Kodak disc camera and became addicted to the act of expressing her view of the world from the 4-foot-high perspective of a seven-year-old. Her height has since increased but her addiction continues. She holds a BFA in Studio Art from Albertus Magnus College (1998) and an MFA in Photography from Hartford Art School (2002). She also is a College of Art and Design alumna, earning an MFA in Photography from us in 2013.

Publications

Diffusion Magazine, Issue 3, 2011

Visual Overture, Featured Emerging Artists, Spring 2011

Art New England, Nov/Dec 2010: Volume 31, Issue 6

Photographers Drawn to Historic Processes By Carl Little

Diffusion Magazine, Issue 2, 2010

Filmwasters.com, Guest Gallery #51, January 2010

Shots Magazine, No. 104, Summer 2009

Folio Hunt, Online Photography Showcase, June 2009

F-Stop Magazine, The Portfolio Issue, June/July 2009

The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, 2nd ed., by Christopher James, 2008

Exhibitions

2012:

Alternative Processes, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
MFA in Photography Exhibition, Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA
MFA in Photography Inaugural Exhibition, University Hall at Lesley University, Boston, MA
Illusion and Chemistry: The Alternative Process, The Kiernan Gallery, Lexington,VA

2011:

Beginnings: Stories and Starting Points, Black Cloud Gallery, Chicago, IL
Hand+Eye, Through This Lens Gallery, Durham, NC
AIPAD Photography Show, John Cleary Gallery booth (#120), Park Avenue Armory, New York, NY
Group Show of Work by New Artists, Galerie BMG, Woodstock, NY
Photo LA, John Cleary Gallery Booth, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA
Alternative Processes, Mills Pond House Gallery, St. James, NY
“Lo-fi”ography: A showcase of Vintage and Alternative Photographic Techniques, Gallery 360, Vancouver, WA

2010:

Alternatives: Unconventional & Uncommon Processes, MPLS Photo Center, Minneapolis, MN
18th & 19th Century Alternative Photography Processes Exhibition, The Coburn Art Gallery, Ashland, OH
Affordable Art Fair New York Fall Show, John Cleary Gallery Booth, New York, NY
Found: Discoveries of FotoFest and PhotoNOLA, John Cleary Gallery, Houston, TX
AIPAD Photography Show, John Cleary Gallery booth, Park Avenue Armory, New York, NY
Uncommon Portraits, PhotoPlace Gallery, The Vermont Photography Workplace, Middlebury, VT
Going Forward Looking Back, Practicing Historic Photographic Processes in the 21st Century, Trustman Art Gallery, Simmons University, Boston, MA