Erwin Timmers (born 1964) is a Dutch-born American artist and the co-founder of the

Washington Glass School The Washington Glass School was founded in 2001 by Washington, DC area artists Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers. The school teaches classes on how to make kiln cast, fused, and cold worked glass sculptures and art. It is the second largest warm glas ...

in the Greater

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

capital area. Timmers has been recognized as one of the early "green or environmental artists", working mostly with recycled glass. He was named the

Montgomery County, MD Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

Executive's Award Outstanding Artist of the Year in 2018, one of the awards in the 17th annual County Executive's Awards for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities. Timmers' sculptural works in sustainable design have been widely exhibited in many galleries and are part of many public collections, including many

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

works around the Greater Washington, D.C. capital region.

Education

Originally from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Timmers moved to California and graduated from Santa Monica College of Design, Art and Architecture.

"Green" artist

As noted in two separate 2007 interviews, Timmers notes that his "recycling heritage" in working with recycled materials comes from his up bringing in Holland. His 2018 Outstanding Artist of the Year award was based in part "for his work in both

environmental art Environmental art is a range of artistic practices encompassing both historical approaches to nature in art and more recent ecological and politically motivated types of works. Environmental art has evolved away from formal concerns, for example ...

as well work as mentor/educator."

Critical reception

* WETA Television noted that "Timmers’ sculpture calls attention to contemporary issues through a creative re-engineering of often-overlooked forms and concepts, often focusing on industrial salvage and recycling." * In the presentation of Timmers' 2018 Outstanding Artist of the Year award, Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett noted that “By their work, they lift us up and educate and inspire us. They make us laugh and make us cry. They make a good Montgomery County even better.” *

The Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focuse ...

wrote that "Timmers has made it his mission to refashion discarded tempered window glass into sculpted pieces of art." *

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

wrote that "Erwin Timmers sets panels made of recycled glass into metal frames, using throwaway items such as plastic-bottle bottoms as molds." *Timmers is represented by Zenith Gallery, one of Washington DC's longest operating art galleries and directed by former D.C. Arts Commissioner Margery E. Goldberg.

Major public art commissions

* “Wall Pipes”, Starwood Urban Investments, Washington, DC, 2001 * Logo Sculpture, The Warehouse Theater and Cafe, Washington, DC, 2003 * Logo Sculpture, Carmen Group, Washington, DC, 2003 * Lighting and Sculpture, David Greggory Restau-lounge, Washington, DC, 2004 * “Chesapeake Memories”, The Residences at Rosedale, Bethesda, MD, 2004 * “Bling-Bling”, Pandamania, DC Commission for Arts and Humanities, Washington, DC, 2004 * H Street: Artistic Sign Project, DC Commission for Arts and Humanities, Washington, DC, 2004 * Logo Sculpture, Food and Friends Headquarters, Washington, DC, 2005 * “Driving Impressions”, Auto Aftermarket Industry Association, Bethesda, MD, 2005 * “A New World View”, American Physical Society,

College Park, MD College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. The population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States Census. It is best known ...

, 2006 * “Images of Healing”,

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

(NIH), Bethesda, MD, 2006 * “Testimony of Community”, Prince George's County Courthouse, Upper Marlboro, MD, 2006 * Site-specific Sculpture, Environment Protection Agency Headquarters Ariel Rios Building, Washington, DC, 2006 * “Tapestry of Community”, Liberty Center, Shooshan Company,

Arlington, VA Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, 2007 * “Stage is Set”, Private residence, Annandale, VA 2009 * “Rebirth/Renewal”,

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...

Courthouse,

Upper Marlboro, MD Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger. Etymology Upper Marlboro was establ ...

, 2010 * Site-specific Sculpture,

Vanderbilt University Medical Center The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a medical provider with multiple hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as clinics and facilities throughout Middle Tennessee. VUMC is an independent non-profit organization, but maintains acad ...

, Nashville, TN, 2010 * “Glass on Stone”, Liberty Building, 1129 20th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 2010 * Site-specific sculpture, The Adele, Silver Spring, MD, 2011 * “Ingredients for Life”, Safeway Supermarket, Bethesda, MD, 2011 * “Eternal Light” Ner Tamid, Kol Shalom, Rockville, MD, 2012 *

John Adams Building The John Adams Building is the second oldest of the four buildings of the Library of Congress of the United States. It is named for John Adams, the second president, who signed the law creating the Library of Congress. The building is in the Capit ...

monumental doors,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

, Washington, DC, 2013 * The Aquilino Cancer Center, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Rockville, MD, 2013 * “Community Gateway” arch, Ward 7, Washington, DC, 2014 * Fallen Heroes Memorial, Judicial Center,

Rockville, MD Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...

, 2014 * Untitled glass and light panels, JBG Companies/Directions in Art, Bethesda, MD, 2015 * “Involve Me and I Learn”, Laurel Library, Laurel, MD, 2016 * “Guidepost”, Airport Centre II, West Palm Beach, FL, 2017 * “Guardian”, Airport Centre II, West Palm Beach, FL, 2017 * ''In progress'': 900 Thayer,

Silver Spring, MD Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 cens ...

, installation 2019 * “Connecting Generations”: William Beanes Community Center,

Suitland, MD Suitland is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, approximately one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,839. Pri ...

, 2018

Awards

He was named the

Executive's Award Outstanding Artist of the Year in 2018, one of the awards in the 17th annual County Executive's Awards for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities. The James Renwick Alliance selected Erwin Timmers' artwork on exhibit in the

Artomatic Artomatic is a multi-week, multimedia arts event held in the Washington, D.C. area. It was founded by Washington, D.C artist and arts activist George Koch. The non-juried, open event has provided a forum for artists of all types (visual, performan ...

2.0 art fair for an award of excellence in the craft field, noting his innovative use of recycled glass and his focus on environmental concerns.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Timmers, Erwin 1964 births Living people Santa Monica College alumni American glass artists Environmental artists Artists from Washington, D.C. Dutch artists