[2] Summers began producing public sculptures after finishing a four-year farming apprenticeship in the early 1970,[3] and gave his first exhibition in 1971.
Since then he 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.
Sculpture is a nice balance because works can be made which are deep and meaningful, but they require your physical body to produce them.
His sculpture of 14 Stations of the Cross installed at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament created a controversy due to the depiction of a naked figure of Jesus at his crucifixion.
[5] A major book on his life and work, Llew Summers: body and soul, by John Newton, was published by Canterbury University Press, with support from Creative New Zealand, in July 2020.