Current Projects
2017 Commission for permanent project as part of the new addition to the sculpture garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
New Publication
Elyn Zimmerman: Places + Projects, Forty Years Text by Tom Moran, Charles Stuckey, Marc Treib, John Beardsley. This monograph documents 40 years of projects and sculptures by American artist Elyn Zimmerman (born 1945), from her ephemeral Light and Space works done in Los Angeles in the 1970s to her recent exhibition at Grounds for Sculpture. ISBN 9780966564440 US $80.00 11.75 x 11 in. / 180 pgs / 176 color / 19 b&w. January 2018.
Recent Exhibitions
September, 2016 - January, 2018 Wind Water Stone, Grounds for Sculpture East Gallery, Hamilton, NJ
April, 2017 - January, 2018 Sensitive Chaos, Grounds for Sculpture West Gallery, Hamilton, NJ
Video
2005 - An Artist at Work, a video produced by Checkerboard Film Foundation, New York, NY, © 2005 documenting Elyn Zimmerman's creative process and the building of Assembly of Friends, a project commissioned by the US State Department and FAPE for the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2004.
Recent News
2015 Acquisition of archives by Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Psychology, UCLA, 1968
Master of Fine Arts, UCLA, 1972
Awards
2016 Isamu Noguchi Award, Noguchi Museum, Long Island City, NY, May
2015 San Francisco's Best Public Open Spaces, CURBED/SF, March
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
2007 Excellence in Design for Capsouto Park, Art Commission of the City of New York
1986 Bessie Award - Set Design for "Memory Theater of Giulio Camillo," Creative Time, NYC
1985 ASLA - Maryland Chapter for National Geographic Society Plaza, Washington D.C.
1982 Artist Fellowship Grant, National Endowment for the Arts
1981 Japan - US Creative Artist Exchange Fellowship, residency in Japan
1980 Artist Fellowship Grant, National Endowment for the Arts
1980 C.A.P.S. Artist Fellowship Grant, NY
1976 Artist Fellowship Grant, National Endowment for the Arts
1976 New Talent Award, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
Public Service
Board of Directors, Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company, 2005 - 2009
Commissioner, Commission on Fine Arts, Washington, DC, 2003 - 2008
Board of Directors, Columbia Land Conservancy, Columbia County, NY, 1989 - 2005
Board of Directors, International Sculpture Center, Washington D.C., 1989 - 1995
Commissioner, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, 1988 - 2000
Board of Directors, Creative Time, Inc., 1985 - 1992
Board of Directors, Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, 1976-78
Selected Collections (Public and Corporate)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
Whitney Museum of American Art, NY
Museum of Modern Art, NY
Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah, GA
British Museum, London, UK
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover , MA
Birmingham Museum of Art, AL
Chase Manhattan Bank Corporation
Best Products, Inc.
Commodities Corporation
General Mills Corporation
AT&T Corporation
Equitable Corporation
Clos Pegase Winery Sculpture Garden, Napa Valley, CA
Goldman Sachs Corporate Collection
Henry Buehl Collection, NY
Bear Stearns Corporate Collection, NY
Wynn Kramarsky Collection, NY
Selected One Person Exhibitions
2005 New Photography, Skestos-Gabriele Gallery, Chicago, IL
2004 Photography, Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Photography, Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY
2001 New Drawings, Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY
1998 Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1996 Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY
1995 Galeria SALLES, Rome, Italy
1993 Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY
1992 65 Thompson Street, New York, NY
1992 Fred Hoffman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1991 University of South Florida Art Museum, Tampa, FL
1988 Wave Hill, Riverdale, NY
1985 Joslyn Museum of Art, Omaha, NE
1984 Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1982 Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
1981 Galleria del Cavallino, Venice, Italy
1979 Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
1979 80 Langton Street, San Francisco, CA
1977 Institute for Art & Urban Resources, PS1, New York, NY
1976 Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1976 SITE, San Francisco, CA
1975 Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1975 Baxter Art Gallery, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
1974 University Art Museum, Berkeley, CA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2015 “River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home” Thomas Cole National Historic Site & Olana Historic Site, NY
2015 “Master Drawings New York” Barbara Mathes Gallery, New York, NY
2014 "Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE)" Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY
2014 "The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt", New York, NY
2010 "Painting and Sculpture: To Benefit the Foundation for Contemporary Arts", Lehmann Maupin, NY
2010 "Artpark: 1974-1984", UB Art Gallery, Center for the Arts, Buffalo, NY
2010 "Contemporary Impressionism: Light, Color, Form, Time", LA Art House, CA
2006 "Paper", Skestos Gabriele Gallery, Chicago, IL
2003 "New World's Old World", AXA Galleries at Equitable Center, New York, NY
2002 "55 Water Street Competition", Municipal Art Society, Urban Center, NY, NY
2002 "New Drawings", Whitherspoon Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2002 "Imaginary Homelands", Center for Photography, Woodstock, NY
2000 "Environmental Sculptures", Dorsky Gallery, New York, NY
1999 "Waxing Poetic: Encaustic Art in America", Montclair Art Museum, NJ
1998 "Face to Face/Art and the Public", Marlborough Gallery, NYC
1998 "Urban Visions", Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA
1997 Betsy Senior Gallery, NYC
1996 "Some Grids", L.A. County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
1996 "Tenth Anniversary", Socrates Sculpture Park, LIC, NY
1996 "Sculpture 1996 - 1997", Leigh, Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI
1996 "Drawings and Photographs", Betsy Senior Gallery, NYC
1992 "Benchmarks", Katonah Museum, Katonah, NY
1991 "Drawings", Lorence-Monk Gallery, NYC
1991 "Green", Max Protetch Gallery, NYC
1991 "Drawing Conclusions", Guidarte Gallery, NYC
1990 "Natural Selection", Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
1990 "Concept - Decoratif: Anti-formalist Art of the 70's", Nahan Contemporary Gallery, NYC
1988 "Private Work for Public Spaces", R.C. Erpf Gallery, NYC
1987 "New York - Los Angeles", Marianne Deson Gallery, Chicago
1987 "Sculpture 1987", Curated by Sam Hunter & Marisa Del Re, Monte Carlo, Monaco
1987 "Arena Project", Landmark Art Project, San Diego, CA
1987 "Layers of Vision", Bette Stoler Gallery, NYC
1986 "Memory Theater of Giulio Camillo", Creative Time project, collaborative set design and installation, Brooklyn, NY
1986 "Sculpture for Public Spaces", Marisa Del Re Gallery, NYC
1985 "Artists and Architects Collaborating", Cleveland Center of Contemporary Art, OH
1985 "Art & Architecture & Landscape", San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA
1985 "Artist as Social Designer", Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
1983 "Directions 1983", Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C.
1982 "Shift: LA/NY", Newport Harbor Art Museum, CA; also Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY
1981 "Window Room Furniture", Houghton Gallery, Cooper Union, NYC; also Tokyo and Osaka, Japan
1981 "New Visions", Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT
1981 "Artists' Gardens and Parks", Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
1980 "Architectural Sculpture", LAICA, Los Angeles, CA
1980 "Drawings: The Pluralist Decade", Venice Biennale, USA, Venice, Italy; & Institute of Contemporary Art, Phila, PA
1980 "California Sculpture 1975-80", San Diego Museum of Art, CA
1979 "Sculptors' Photographs", Hunter College Art Gallery, NYC
1979 "Eight Artists: The Elusive Image", Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
1979 "Custom & Culture Part II", U.S. Customs House, NYC, Sponsored by Creative Time
1977 "Photography As Means", Palomar College, San Marcos, CA
1976 "Biennale of Sydney", Sydney, Australia
1974 "Whitney Biennial", Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC
1973 "The Factor Collection", Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, CA
Chronology of Public Projects
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 features landscape, seating and a 120' long x 10' wide stone and water 'canal' by the artist.
2008 Suspended Arcs, Olympic Park, Beijing, China. Commisioned by the Beijing 2008 Olympic Committee.
2008 Watercourse at Bentall V Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Commissioned by the Vancouver Art Commission and the Bentall Development Corporation for the plaza in front of new office tower in center of Vancouver.
2005 Scholar's Rock, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, NJ.Sited along edge of the large pond, 50' long granite bench 'suspended' by a 'forest' of painted stainless steel poles. Inscribed with quotations from Institute founder and members.
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. African granite, water, sandstone. Six 8' H x 3' W x 8' D carved and shaped granite panels surround sandstone pool in entry court of the embassy.
2004 Free Fall, Granite fountains, pools and garden alongside the entry and reception rooms of the new wing of the Cancer Institute of NJ.
2001 Roundabout, Burbank, CA, Sandstone sculpture, surrounding landscape set into 80' diameter entry court. Commissioned by the City of Burbank and Empire Center Developers.
1998 Campo, Housatonic Community Technical College. Connecticut Commission on the Arts. Three brick and precast concrete pavilions (24' x 24' each) set into the central campus courtyard.
1995 Untitled, World Trade Center, New York City. Commemorating the 1993 Center Memorial bombing of the World Trade Center. Memorial fountain is located on the plaza of the WTC and measures 30 by 30 feet by 3 feet high, surrounded by benches and trees.
1994 Untitled, Conference Center, AT&T Headquarters, Basking Ridge, NJ. 30' diameter granite sculpture incorporating multiple levels, seating, waterfall, pool and related landscaping.
1993 Untitled, Birmingham Museum of Art. Collaborative design of new sculpture garden. 120' wide by 300' long site is divided into three distinct areas connected by ramps and landscaping. Upper plaza incorporates commissioned waterfall Lithos III.
1991 First Market Plaza, First Market Tower Plaza, 525 Market St. San Francisco, CA. Commissioned by Tishman/Speyer and San Francisco Arts Commission. 14,000 square foot plaza divided into three areas by two granite block waterfall walls, Lithos II, and extensive landscaping.
1991 Lithos I, 865 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA. Commissioned by Manufacturers Real Estate, Toronto, Canada under the auspices of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. Interior lobby and exterior plaza with landscaping & multiple water features with granite.
1990 Sanctuary, Moffitt Cancer Research Center, University of South Florida, Tampa. 40' diameter plaza adjacent to facility. Multi-level concentric forms include seating areas & pool with waterfall.
1989 Keystone Island, Dade County Justice Center, North Miami, FL. Commissioned by Dade County Art Public Places. Roughly 50' in diameter, Keystone Island is sited in sited in a protected Mangrove reserve on Biscayne Bay adjacent to the new courthouse.
1987 Terrain, O'Hare International Center, adjacent to O'Hare airport, Chicago, IL. Commissioned by Hawthorn Realty Group & Melvin Simon & Associates. A multi-level plaza with multiple water features, sculptural treatments and landscaping.
1984 Marabar, National Geographic Society, Washington D.C. Plaza design featuring 60' long pool and granite boulders ranging in height from 2' to 10'. Surrounding garden includes numerous sited granite boulders.
1982 Shunyata, Oakbrook, IL. Garden design with large water feature set below grade and enclosed by triangulated stone walls.
Sculpture Commissions
2006 Archeos, Private residence, Kent, NY
2000 Tetra, Private residence, Southhampton, NY
1996 XY, Private residence, Spencertown, NY
1996 XX, Telfair Museum, Jepson Center for Art, Savannah, GA
1995 Agate, Private Residence, Darien, CT.
1993 Triad, Nassau County Art Museum, Long Island, NY (Extended loan by owner)
1993 Vessel Private residence, Basking Ridge, NJ
1992 Stalled Cairn, Private residence, Bedford, NY
1992 Morbihan, General Mills Art Collection, Minneapolis, MN
1991 Portal Meidum,Private residence, Amagansett, NY
1982 Shunyata, Private residence, Oakbrook, IL
Selected Exhibition Catalogues
2003 Feinstein, Roni. Elyn Zimmerman: Photography, Gagosian Gallery, NY
2001 Karmel, Pepe & Hempel, Amy. Elyn Zimmerman: New Drawings, Gagosian Gallery, NY
2000 Chambers, Christopher, Environmental Sculpture, Dorsky Gallery, NYC, NY
1999 Staviatsky, Gail, Waxing Poetic, Encaustic Art in America, Montclair Art Museum, NJ
1988 Treib, Marc. Elyn Zimmerman: A Decade of Projects, Illustrated catalogue, NY
1996 Pincus-Witten, Robert. Elyn Zimmerman, Gagosian Gallery, NYC
1993 Newman, Sasha. Elyn Zimmerman, Gagosian Gallery, NYC
1991 Beardsley, John. Elyn Zimmerman, Art Museum, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
1991 Carlucci, Pietro. Drawing Conclusions, Guidarte Gallery, NYC
1990 Bloemink, Barbara. Natural Selection, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
1990 Morgan, Robert. Concept - Decoratif: Anti-Formalist Art of the 70's, Nahan Gallery, NYC
1986 Senie, Harriet. Sculpture for Public Spaces, Marisa Del Re Gallery, NYC
1985 Schwartz, Joyce. Art in the Environment, Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL
1985 Schwartz, Joyce. Artists & Architects Collaborating, Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH
1985 Filler, Martin. Art & Architecture & Landscape, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA
1983 Wortz, Melinda. Natural Elements Sculpture Park, Santa Monica Arts Commission, CA
1983 Rosenweig, Phyliss. Directions 1983, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C.
1982 Schimmel, Paul. Shift: LA/NY, Newport Harbor Art Museum, CA
1982 Stuckey, Charles. Palisades Project & Related Works, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
1981 Williams, Tod and Scofidio, Ricardo. ed. Window Room Furniture Projects, Houghton Gallery, Cooper Union, NYC
1981 Anderson, Richard. Intro. New Visions, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT
1980 Burchett, Deborah. Intro. Architectural Sculpture, Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
1980 Kardon, Janet. Drawings: The Pluralist Decade, Venice Biennale, US Pavilion & Institute of Contemporary Art, Phila,
1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, NY
1980 Owens, Craig. Intro. Art at the Olympics, A Survey of the National Fine Arts Program,
1980 Armstrong, Richard. Intro. California Sculpture 1975-1980, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA
1979 Neff, John. Options I: Elyn Zimmerman, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
1979 Lyons, Lisa. Eight Artists: The Elusive Image, Design Quarterly, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
1978 Tyson, Rae. Intro. Artpark 1978, The program in Visual Arts, Lewiston, NY
1976 McCullough, Thomas. Intro. Biennial of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
1974 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC
Selected Periodicals & Books
2014 Karmel, Pepe. ELEMENTAL: works on paper, Charta Publishing
2010 Kienholz, Lyn. L.A. Rising: SoCal Artists Before 1980, Getty Publishing
2009 "Microparks Everywhere", New York Magazine, August 10 - 17
2009 Cohen, Patricia. "Employing Art Along with Ambassadors", New York Times, June 27
2009 Van Uffelen, Chris. 1000X Landscape Architecture, Verlagshaus Braun
2008 Yilang, Zhu. "The Sculpture Olympics", Sculpture, November
2008 Falkenstein, Michelle. "Showing Our Best Side", Art News, Summer
2005 Melkisethian, Angela. "Elyn Zimmerman", Sculpture, March
2003 Leffingwell, Edward. "Review of Exhibitions", Art in America, October
2003 Castleberry, May. New World's Old World, University of New Mexico Press
2002 Feinstein, Roni. 'Review of Exhibitions", Art in America, March
2002 Ruas, Charles. "Review of Exhibitions", ArtNews, January
2002 Emory, David. "World Trade Center Art Works Destroyed", Art in America, January
2001 Lin, Jeremy. "Unrealized Projects", Surface, March
1998 Frank, Peter. "New Sculpture", LA Weekly, June
1998 Lieberman, Clair. "Stone Sculpture", Sculpture, February
1997 Hummer, Tracey. "Interview with Elyn Zimmerman", Sculpture, May/June
1996 Sandler, Irving. Art of the Postmodern Era, Harper Collins
1996 Hartney, Elenor. "Review of Exhibitions", Art in America, March
1994 Morris, Philip. "Grand Opening", Southern Accents, September/October
1992 Beardsley, John. "Museum Landscapes: More Space for Sculpture", Landscaping Architecture, January
1992 Princenthal, Nancy. "Review of Exhibitions", Art in America, November
1992 Senie, Harriet, Contemporary Public Sculpture, Oxford University Press
1991 Castagliola, M.E. "Elyn Zimmerman: Sanctuary", Art Papers, September - October
1991 Berman, Avis. "Public Sculpture's New Look", Art News, Vol. 90, No. 7 September
1991 Higuchi, Shoichiro. Water as Environmental Art, Kashiwashobo Publishing Company, Tokyo, Japan
1991 Marger, Maryann. "A Moment of Solace", St. Petersburg Times, March 23
1991 Broude, Norma. "Alternative Monuments", Art in America, February
1990 Rubinstein, Charlotte. American Women Sculptors, G. K. Hall and Company, Publishers, Boston
1990 Higuchi, Shoichiro. Public Art: Urban Sculpture in USA, Japanese Press
1990 Southerland, Lyle. Designing the New Landscape, Thames & Hudson, London
1990 Joselit, David. "Public Art and the Public Purse", Art in America, July
1990 Turner, Elise. "Miami", Contemporanea, April
1990 Hitt, Jack. "Whatever Became of the Public Square?" Harpers, July
1989 Malone, Maggie. "The Great Outdoors", ARTS Report, Newsweek, October 28
1989 Pittas, Michael. "Contemporary California Competitions", Urban Design International, Vol.10
1989 Kohen, Helen. "Island: A Winning Piece of Public Art", Miami Herald, July 16
1989 Sasaki, Yoji. "Artwork: Elyn Zimmerman", Japan Landscapes, #10, Tokyo, Japan
1989 Beardsley, John. Earthworks and Beyond, Abbeville Press, NY
1988 Higuchi, Shoichiro, "Terrain", Shoten Kenchiku, Tokyo, Japan
1988 Bresnson, Michael. "Arts Review", New York Times, July 22
1988 Zimmer, William. "Public Art by Elyn Zimmerman", New York Times, July 10
1988 Korza, P, & Cruikshank, J. Going Public: Art in Public Places, AES, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Publishers
1988 Feinberg, Jean. "Terrain: Elyn Zimmerman's Garden Courtyard", Landscape Architecture, Vol. 78, March/April
1987 Treib, Marc. "Design Vocabulary III: Rock", Landscape Architecture, Vol. 77, No. 3, May/June
1987 Sergeat, Georgia. "Washington D.C. - Sculpture in Architectural Settings", International Sculpture, January/February
1987 Zelanski, P. & Fisher, M. The Art of Seeing, John Calmann & King, Publishers
1986 "Design News - Davenport Plaza", Architectural Record, April
1985 Filler, Martin. "Design Award Competition: Domaine Clos Pegase Winery", Architectural Record, February
1985 Garris, Laurie. "The Changing Landscape", Arts & Architecture, Vol. 3, No. 4
1984 Gopnik, Adam. "Marabar", Arts Magazine, October
1983 Silverthorne, Jeanne. "Reviews", ArtForum, October
1983 Shinoda, M. "Women Artists", Bijitsu Techo, Tokyo, Japan
1982 Mizumoto, Shuji. "New York Art", Bijitsu Techo, Tokyo, Japan
1982 Phillips, Deborah. "Reviews", Art News, June
1982 Lubell, Ellen. "Reviews", Art News, June
1982 Tsai, Eugenie. "Elyn Zimmerman: Palisades", Arts Magazine, April
1982 Raynor, Vivian. "Arts Review", New York Times, February 14
1980 Frueh, Joanna. "Reviews: Chicago", ArtForum, February
1980 Larsen, Kay. "Expulsion from the Garden: Environmental Sculpture at the Winter Olympics", ArtForum, February
1980 McFadden, Sarah. "The Big Secret: Art at the Olympics", Art in America, April
1978 Varnedoe, Kirk. "Site Lines: Recent Work by Elyn Zimmerman", Arts Magazine, December
1978 Newman, Jay Hartley. The Mirror Book, Crown Publishers, NY
1977 Zimmer, William. "Rectangular Sentinels", Soho Weekly News, April 7
1977 Marmer, Nancy. "Reviews: Los Angeles", ArtForum, May
1977 "Elyn Zimmerman", DATA ARTE #27, Milan, Italy
1976 Albright, Thomas. "Zimmerman's Sense of Magic", San Francisco Chronicle, December 6
1975 Varnedoe, Kirk. "Artifact or Fact Art: Transparent Problems in Photography", Arts Magazine, June
1975 Hoesterey, Ingebord. "New York", Art International, May