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1954 Born Poughkeepsie, New York
2021 Died Hudson, New York
EDUCATION
1977 BFA Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri
1979 MFA New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, New York
APPRENTICESHIPS AND RESIDENCIES
1972 Apprenticeship, Alvingham Pottery, Lincolnshire, England
1974, 1975Bacqui Stone Quarry, Lacoste, France
1977 Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, Montana
1983Omaha Brickworks, Alternative Worksites, Omaha, Nebraska
1987 Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, Maine
1987 International Symposium of Ceramics, Alcobaça, Portugal
1988 Centro de Arte e Comunicação Visual, Lisbon, Portugal
1989, 1991Arts/Industry Residency Program, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
1991, 1990 Sant’Anna Tile Factory, Lisbon, Portugal
2000 Invited Guest Artist, Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shigaraki, Japan
2004 Invited Artist, Symposium, World Ceramic Exposition Foundation, Yeoju, Korea
PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE
1980—Studio artist, Brooklyn, New York
1981-1982Studio Manager, Parsons School of Design, New York, New York
1990, 2007-2009Adjunct Professor, Hunter College, New York, New York
1992New York University, New York, New York
1993Centro de Arte e Communicação Visual (ARCO), Lisbon, Portugal
1995, 1996 Adjunct Professor, City College of New York, New York, New York
2003Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont
2009Adjunct Professor, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York
Arnie Zimmerman's earliest works are domestic scaled objects including thrown teapots. He is better known, however, for his experiments with scale and a series of monumental vessel forms he created throughout the 1980s.
Untitled Vessels (1982) (P.C.85.26.1-5), a series of five monumental vessels at the Everson Museum of Art, range in height from 81.5 to 88 inches. The vessels are made of blue, pink, green and tan earthenware. They are described as "...deeply carved with abstract shapes, ridges, and/or geometric designs reminiscent of Romanesque columns or Pilasters...." (American Ceramics The Collection of Everson Museum of Art,1989, page 582). This juxtaposition of scale remains part of Zimmerman’s work.
In the mid-1990s Zimmerman begins working in series creating groups of salt-fired, hand-built porcelain figurines, some of these are used in major installation projects. "New Lost City," a 2010 exhibition at the Clay Art Center, is an example Zimmerman's use of figurines to comment on current events. Meant to depict vignettes of Manhattan tradesman building the city, "New Lost City" uses a realist approach to depict the everyday peripheral scenes that are often missed within a cityscape. "New Lost City," represents one of many "Inner City" series installations created by the artist.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred University, Alfred, New York
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona
Brooklyn Museum, New York, New York
Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, Wisconsin
Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, Michigan
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, Hawai’i
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York
Museum of Decorative Arts, Montreal, Canada
Nacional Museu do Azulejo, Lisbon, Portugal
The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shigaraki, Japan
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC
World Ceramic Exposition Foundation, Icheon, Korea
Yellowstone Art Center, Billings, Montana
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clark, Garth. A Century of American Ceramics in the United States: 1878-1978. New York, New York: Dutton, 1979.
Del Vecchio, Mark. Postmodern Ceramics. London, England: Thames & Hudson, 2001.
Denker, Ellen Paul. “Arnold Zimmerman,” review, American Craft (February/March 2005).
Koplos, Janet. “Arnold Zimmerman at John Elder,” review, Art in America (October 1999).
Perreault, John. “Big Apple Clay, Arnold Zimmerman,” American Ceramics 14 no.2 (2004).
Levin, Elaine. The History of American Ceramics: From Pipkins and Bean Pots to Contemporary Forms—1607 to the Present. New York, NY: Abrams, 1988.
Perry, Barbara. American Ceramics: The Collection of the Everson Museum. New York, NY: Rizzoli International Publications, 1989.
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Citation: "The Marks Project." Last modified July 30, 2021. http://www.themarksproject.org:443/marks/zimmerman