Jeff Zimmerman

Jeff Zimmerman was born in Ft. Knox, Kentucky in 1968. He was raised by a painter mother and a sculptor stepfather at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado. His early exposure to nature remains a vital force in his work. In 1988, while pursuing a degree in Anthropology in Santa Barbara, California, Jeff took his first glass blowing class. This led to learning the classical Venetian approach to glass blowing while receiving his BFA at a small arts school the woods of Tennessee. Summers were spent on staff at the Pilchuk School in Seattle. It was there that he was exposed to master Italian glass technicians Lino Tagliapietro and Pino Signoretto. Jeff began his apprenticeship, honing his technique while developing his artistic "voice." He was also exposed to contemporary artists such as Maya Lin, Kiki Smith, and Ann Hamilton. Jeff was very influenced by the way these artists approached glass from a conceptual platform. He would go on to fabricate work for these artists. Toward the end of his time in school, Jeff joined a collaborative experimental group called the B Team.

The B Team traveled to other schools as visiting artists. Their performances were punk rock cutting edge "happenings." Molten glass rainstorms unleashed themselves on steel umbrellas pouring hot and immediate over the players. Jeff took a short hiatus from the B Team to work as master glass blower at C.I.R.V.A., a contemporary design and art center in Marseille, France. While making experimental sculpture and traveling throughout Europe and Africa, Jeff worked with such esteemed artists as Robert Wilson, Gaetano Pesce and Robert Morris. Two years later, Jeff returned to NY and the B Team. They continued to embark on collaborative performances utilizing molten glass and installation art. The B Team received the BESSY award from the Dance Theater Workshop, as well as the Tiffany Award and showed at the New Museum for Contemporary Art and the Grand Arts Center in Kansas City. A tour in Japan shortly followed.

Jeff's individual work involved a site-specific installation for the Robert Lehman Gallery. He created an Anthropology Museum of the Future utilizing black light and glass fetish pieces. He also continued a working relationship with many well-known artists, architects, and designers. Jeff joined the faculty of Urban Glass in Brooklyn where he served as Instructor for three years. He has also shown with Sean Kelly Gallery and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Jeff continues to live and work in New York bringing together his experience as a classically trained artist with his career in performance art. His work evolves and involves idea-based design. His custom work encompasses sculptural chandeliers, lighting environments and glass wall interiors as well as abstract vases and mirrors. Through R 20th Century, Jeff creates site-specific commissions for an exclusive clientele.