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Elyn Zimmerman (1945-) is a New York City and Los Angeles based sculptor best known for her large scale site-specific outdoor installations incorporating granite, water features, and landscape architecture.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Zimmerman moved to California for college, earning both her BFA and MFA from University of California, Los Angeles. While at UCLA, she studied with Richard Diebenkorn and Robert Irwin, and worked in photography, drawing, and site-specific installation. In 1978 she created Monarch's Trough for Artpark in Lewiston, New York, her first site-specific work using granite. For the next several decades Zimmerman would complete dozens of site-specific installations in public and private spaces across the United States, and submit proposals for dozens more. Working frequently with stone and granite, she developed a decades long relationship with a granite quarry in Cold Spring, Minnesota, which fabricated many of her designs. Zimmerman's clients have included the National Geographic Society, the Birmingham Art Museum, and the New York City Parks Department.
In addition to her site-specific work, Zimmerman has had an extensive exhibition history, and has shown for many years with Gagosian Gallery. In 2016, Zimmerman was the recipient of the Isamu Noguchi Award. She has taught at Mills College, California Institute of the Arts, Harvard University, New York University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Zimmerman was married to the late curator Kirk Varnedoe from 1978-2002.