Erwin Timmers
Dutch-born American artist
Erwin Timmers (born 1964) is a Dutch-born American artist and the co-founder of the Washington Glass School in the Greater Washington, D.C. 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 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 artworks around the Greater Washington, D.C. capital region.
Education
Originally from Amsterdam, 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 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 wrote that "Timmers has made it his mission to refashion discarded tempered window glass into sculpted pieces of art."
The Washington Post 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, 2006
“Images of Healing”, National Institutes of Health (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, 2007
“Stage is Set”, Private residence, Annandale, VA 2009
“Rebirth/Renewal”, Prince George's County Courthouse, Upper Marlboro, MD, 2010
Site-specific Sculpture, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 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 monumental doors, Library of Congress, 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, 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, installation 2019
“Connecting Generations”: William Beanes Community Center, Suitland, MD, 2018
Awards
He was named the Montgomery County, MD 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.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Erwin Timmers” as dutch-born American artist. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as dutch-born American artist. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q60286777. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1964, 2018, 2007 and 2001.
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This entry incorporates text from “Erwin Timmers” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.