Elyn Zimmerman
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Elyn Zimmerman (born 1945) is an American sculptor known for her emphasis on large scale, site specific projects and
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 ...
. Along with these works, Zimmerman has exhibited drawings and photographs since graduating with an MFA in painting and photography at
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
in 1972. Her teachers included Robert Heineken, Robert Irwin, and
Richard Diebenkorn Richard Diebenkorn (April 22, 1922 – March 30, 1993) was an American painter and printmaker. His early work is associated with abstract expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1960s he bega ...
. In the mid 1970s Zimmerman created a number of temporary, site-specific installations for museum and gallery exhibitions. Some of these projects were presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Hudson River Museum, NY; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; and the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC. Zimmerman's permanent sculpture works, beginning in the 1980s, range from studio pieces and private commissions, to large scale projects for civic, university and corporate sites. She was most recently awarded the 2016 Isamu Noguchi Award alongside
Tadao Ando is a Japanese autodidact architect whose approach to architecture and landscape was categorized by architectural historian Francesco Dal Co as "critical regionalism". He is the winner of the 1995 Pritzker Prize. Early life Ando was born a few m ...
.


Biography

Zimmerman's career as a sculptor began when she returned to California after a trip to India in 1977 where she was profoundly inspired by the archeological sites she visited. This trip precipitated her interest in doing outdoor projects and to work with stone. Upon her return she was invited to do temporary outdoor works at venues such as Artpark, Lewiston, NY; 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, NY; Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, TX, and other spaces. As she has written, the ability to experiment with new materials and to learn while creating these temporary projects was invaluable and gave her confidence to create the permanent commissions that came later. These permanent projects, beginning in 1980, are recognized for their use of stone, water, (reflecting pools, fountains) and landscape elements. Included among these large scale, public commissions is a fountain to memorialize the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City; the design of the sculpture garden at the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama; a fountain and seating area for AT&T headquarters in New Jersey; and the plaza design at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC featuring a large pool surrounded by polished and natural cleft granite boulders.


Early influences

During her undergraduate years at UCLA, Zimmerman took classes in the fine arts program while completing a BA in perceptual psychology. It was her knowledge in this discipline and her interest in contemporary art that led her to start working for Jim Turrell and Robert Irwin, doing research for their joint project for the Art and Technology exhibition at
LACMA The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961, ...
in 1967. Working as an independent student with Robert Heineken in photography and Richard Diebenkorn in painting, she was accepted into the MFA program in 1968 and graduated with an MFA in 1972. In the 1960s and 1970s Los Angeles was home for many art communities as well as quality art colleges:
Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art In ...
, Otis Parsons Art Institute,
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
, and the art departments at UCLA and USC. To compensate for the scarcity of art museums interested in contemporary art and the lack of art galleries, save for well-known
Ferus Gallery The Ferus Gallery was a contemporary art gallery which operated from 1957 to 1966. In 1957, the gallery was located at 736-A North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. In 1958, it was relocated across the street to 723 North La Cienega ...
founded by Walter Hopps, there were alternative art exhibition spaces, such as L.A.C.E and LAICA. In 1962
ArtForum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notabl ...
was founded in San Francisco; the Feminist Art Movement began in 1971 with roots at
CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bot ...
; LACMA initiated the first museum exhibition of Art &Technology, and what came to be called the LA Light and Space Movement was generated, making use of unconventional venues to exhibit artist's projects. Zimmerman's work in graduate school was influenced by this rich environment as well as by the young architect she lived with during those years. He had been in the peace corps and traveled through India, Nepal and Central Asia. The images and cultural influences he shared when they met fueled her desire to travel and investigate the world herself. Together they traveled throughout the American southwest and to Mexico to see Native American and Pre-Columbian archeological sites, as well as visit the progressive modern architecture. Between her undergraduate and graduate years Zimmerman worked in a diverse number of positions. She was a part-time studio assistant for several artists until she was hired to work at
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
in Hollywood as assistant to the head designer in the art department. She left that job when an offer came from the
Charles and Ray Eames Charles Eames ( Charles Eames, Jr) and Ray Eames ( Ray-Bernice Eames) were an American married couple of industrial designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture through the work of ...
office in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
to be the assistant to the house photographer and to run their darkroom.


Later influences

Zimmerman and
Kirk Varnedoe John Kirk Train Varnedoe (January 18, 1946 – August 14, 2003) was an American art historian, the Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art from 1988 to 2001, Professor of the History of Art at the Institute for Advance ...
began a correspondence in 1975 after he wrote an enthusiastic article about the drawing and photographic piece she exhibited in the 1974
Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in ...
. She was in NYC in 1976 to install a project at PS1 when they met for coffee, from that point on engaging in a long distance relationship. In 1977 Zimmerman moved to New York City where she and Varnedoe shared a loft in the newly named
Tribeca Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stre ...
neighborhood. They married in 1983. He was a professor of art history at NYU's Institute of Fine Art and she taught studio classes at SUNY Purchase. Varnedoe's deep knowledge of western art history and his widely celebrated talent to convey this information to students, colleagues and friends enriched Zimmerman's understanding of and appreciation for these traditions. On the other hand, her studies of oriental art history, her residency in Japan, and travels to India and China became new interests of his. In 1979, the
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
started a new program called Art in Public Places. Projects using government funds were required to use a percentage of the funds for artworks specific to the project at hand. Zimmerman was awarded one of the first of these projects in 1979, for Fort Lincoln Park in Washington, DC. Although the project was never realized, it began her relationship with Cold Spring Granite Company in Cold Spring, MN. This would become her major source of stone materials for over 30 years. When the
National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...
selected
David Childs David Magie Childs (born April 1, 1941) is an American architect and chairman emeritus of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He is the architect of the new One World Trade Center in New York City. Early life and education Chi ...
of SOM to design their new headquarters in Washington, DC his office sought out artists who worked with stone. This became Zimmerman's first substantial commission, reinforcing her desire to pursue this type of artwork and to learn more about all the aspects of creating outdoor public projects including: construction methods; landscape requirements; sustainable building practices and materials sources. It was after spending considerable time at stone quarries that she became interested in also making smaller more intimate stone sculptures.


Selected works


Public projects

*1984 ''Marabar,'' National Geographic Society, Washington D.C. Plaza with 60' long pool and granite boulders. Surrounding garden includes numerous sited granite boulders. * 1987 ''Terrain,'' O'Hare International Center, adjacent to O'Hare airport, Chicago, IL. Commissioned by Hawthorn Realty Group & Melvin Simon & Associates. * 1991 ''First Market Plaza'', First Market Tower Plaza, 525 Market St. San Francisco, CA. Commissioned by Tishman/Speyer and San Francisco Arts Commission. * 1994 ''Untitled,'' Conference Center, AT&T Headquarters, Basking Ridge, NJ. * 1995 ''Untitled,'' World Trade Center, New York City. Commemorating the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. (Destroyed on 11 September 2001) * 2004 ''Wa Marafiki Mkusanyiko (Assembly of Friends),'' US Embassy, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Commissioned by the US State Department & Foundation of Art & Preservation in Embassies. * 2008 ''Suspended Arcs'', Olympic Park, Beijing, China. Commissioned by the Beijing 2008 Olympic Committee. * 2010 ''Capsouto Park'', Commissioned by the NYC Parks Department, Art Tribeca Park Commission & the Mayor's Fund. A collaborative effort by the artist & Gail Wittwer-Laird of the NYC Parks Depart. This one acre park bounded by Laight,
Canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
(across Canal from
Juan Pablo Duarte Square Juan Pablo Duarte Square, usually shortened to Duarte Square, is a triangular park in Hudson Square, in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The park, operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks), is bound by Sullivan ...
) and Varick streets features landscape, seating and a 120' long x 10' wide stone and water 'canal' by the artist.


Sculpture commissions

* 1982 ''Shunyata,'' Private residence, Oakbrook, IL * 1991 ''Portal Meidum,'' Private residence, Amagansett, NY * 1992 ''Morbihan,'' General Mills Art Collection, Minneapolis, MN * 1995 ''Agate'', Private Residence, Darien, CT * 2006 ''Archeos,'' Private residence, Kent, NY


Selected exhibitions

Elyn Zimmerman has exhibited for more than 40 years in Europe, Australia, Japan, and the United States. Including but not limited to the following: * ''1974 Whitney Biennial'', Whitney Museum of American Art, New York * ''1976 2nd Biennale of Sydney'', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia * ''1979 Custom & Culture Part II'', U.S. Customs House, New York * ''1979 Eight Artists: The Elusive Image'', Walker Art Center, Minneapolis * 1980 ''California Sculpture 1975-80'', San Diego Museum of Art, CA * 1980 ''Drawings: The Pluralist Decade'', Venice Biennale, USA, Venice, Italy; & Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia * 1980 ''Architectural Sculpture'', LAICA, Los Angeles * 1981 ''Window Room Furniture'', Houghton Gallery, Cooper Union, New York (also Tokyo and Osaka, Japan) *1982 ''Shift LA/NY'', Newport Harbor At Museum, Newport Beach *1982 ''Palisades Project'', Hudson River Museum, Yonkers * 1985 ''Art & Architecture & Landscape'', San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA * 1986 ''Sculpture for Public Spaces'', Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York * 1987 ''Layers of Vision'', Bette Stoler Gallery, New York * 1988 ''Private Work for Public Spaces'', R.C. Erpf Gallery, New York * 1990 ''Concept - Decoratif: Anti-formalist Art of the 70's'', Nahan Contemporary Gallery, New York *1991 ''Elyn Zimmerman'', Contemporary Art Museum, University of South Florida, Tampa *1996 ''Elyn Zimmerman'', Gagosian Gallery, New York * 1996 ''Tenth Anniversary'', Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY * 1996 ''Some Grids'', L.A. County Museum of Art, Los Angeles * 1998 ''Urban Visions'', Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA * 2000 ''Environmental Sculptures'', Dorsky Gallery, New York *2001 ''Elyn Zimmerman: New Drawings'', Gagosian, New York *2003 ''Elyn Zimmerman: Photographs'', Gagosian, New York * 2010 ''Contemporary Impressionism: Light, Color, Form, Time'', LA Art House, CA * 2010 ''Artpark: 1974-1984'', UB Art Gallery, Center for the Arts, Buffalo * 2015 ''Master Drawings New York'', Barbara Mathes Gallery, New York


Selected collections

Selected public and corporate collections include: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Telfair Museum Jepson Center, Savannah; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover; AT&T Corporation, Basking Ridge; British Museum, London; Chase Manhattan Bank Corporation, New York; Clos Pegase Winery Sculpture Garden, Napa Valley; Commodities Corporation, Princeton; Equitable Corporation, New York; General Mills Sculpture Garden, Minneapolis; Goldman Sachs Corporate Collection, New York; Henry Buhl Collection, New York; Kramarsky Collection, New York.


Awards

* 1976 Artist Fellowship Grant, National Endowment for the Arts * 1976 New Talent Award, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA * 1980 Artist Fellowship Grant, National Endowment for the Arts * 1980 C.A.P.S. Artist Fellowship Grant, NY * 1981 Japan - US Creative Artist Exchange Fellowship, Residency in Japan * 1982 Artist Fellowship Grant, National Endowment for the Arts * 1985 ASLA - Maryland Chapter for National Geographic Society Plaza, Washington D.C. * 1986 Bessie Award - Set Design for "Memory Theater of Giulio Camillo," Creative Time, NYC * 2007 Excellence in Design for Capsouto Park, Art Commission of the City of New York * 2010 Great Places in America Award /Public Spaces, The Charles Ireland Sculpture Garden, Birmingham Museum of Art * 2010 Resident American Academy in Rome (RAAR '10) Roy Lichtenstein Residency * 2015 San Francisco's Best Public Open Spaces, CURBED/SF * 2016 Isamu Noguchi Award, Noguchi Museum, Long Island City, NY


Monographs

* 2015 ''Elemental / Elyn Zimmerman Works on Paper''. Milan: Charta. * 2017 ''Elyn Zimmerman: Places + Projects 40 Years''. Hamilton, NJ: Grounds for Sculpture.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Elyn 1945 births Living people 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American sculptors Environmental artists American women sculptors 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists Artists from Philadelphia University of California, Los Angeles alumni Sculptors from Pennsylvania