Tim Tate - Mixed Media Queer Sculptor
Tim Tate is co-founder of the Washington Glass Studio in Washington, DC. Tim’s work is in the permanent collections of a number of museums, including the Smithsonian's American Art Museum. He was also the 2010 recipient of the Virginia Groot Foundation award for sculpture and is a 2018 James Renwick Alliance Distinguished Artist…among many other awards.
Tim Tate has spent many years championing LGTBQ rights in all its forms. Now a 40 year HIV+ Queer Man, he founded the Triangle Artist Group in the early 90’s and helped curate the very first HIV+ art show there. He was also chair of the first Art Against Aids charity event in Washington, DC. He is the also the designer of the New Orleans Aids Monument.
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He received his Fulbright Award from Sunderland, University in England in 2012. In 2018 he was asked to speak at Yale University by speak on Craft and Conflict by Glenn Adamson to represent the Queer community and its history of art activism.
He participated in the Glasstress show with Ai Wei Wei and Vic Muniz during the 2019 Venice Biennale and the Boca Raton Museum Glasstress show in Jan. 2021. In October 2021 he will be showing at the Hermitage, in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Artist Statement
Blending a traditional craft with new media technology gives me the framework in which I fit my artistic narrative. In my work I explore moving images and endless mirrors to achieve my interest in contemporary work with the aesthetic of Victorian techno-fetishism, which emerged from my fascination with Jules Verne as a boy. Artwork and video I believe will be societies relics of the future.
I like to reference many possible histories, and will do so with video or mirrors, to show our common artistic ancestry and illustrate alternate paths. Perhaps centuries from now my work will have the same presence as abandoned archaic machines from the turn of the last century, as people marvel over what could have possibly been its intent.
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While many of my works deal with loss and memory, much of it has to do with the issues facing LGTBQ people in this country. My community is under attack, some of the worst in our history. I deal with my own fears and frustrations in my artform, as well as a newer focus on Utopian Queer Futurism.
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In my endless mirrors, I try to entice the viewer to look deeply into and completely experience my windows into alternative dimensions. My works create an optical and bodily illusion of infinity through apparently limitless space. There is an intimacy implied by viewing deeply into a circular opening, as if peering through a portal to witness another endlessly repeating reality. These pieces create a visual space that doesn't actually exist in reality, but claims volume none the less. We literally look into a dimension that doesn't share space in this world.
The constant repetition of imagery also speaks to us of timelines: ones that go endlessly into the future or extend endlessly into the past. These repetitions reference society mired into static social patterns, some good, some bad.
We look inside these portals as if seeing into a dream, fully realizing that this is but an illusion. But even though we know it is a illusion that should not stop us from freely examining it, and hopefully seeing another world at the same time.
Uncomfortable with any single defining time, I prefer sliding through the centuries; from 19th century Victorian techno-fetishism, to mid and late 20th century references to endless mirrors and studio glass to 21st century electronics and political focus. Perhaps all my work can be defined by how uncomfortable I am with definitions.
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My work hovers between subjects of scientific curiosity, Contemporary video imagery, relics, rituals and dreams. My interests lie in finding the relics of the future while honoring the past. To me, these works are transparent reliquaries of sorts in which bits of saints’ bones or hair — relics — are displayed, with simultaneous intimacy and distance. .
In many cultures and religions, relics are believed to have healing powers. My relics can be temporal; sounds and moving images formally enshrined, encapsulating experiences like cultural specimens. And perhaps, to the contemporary soul, they are no less reliquaries than those containing the bones of a saint.
With technology rapidly changing the way we perceive art, the current day contemporary landscape closely mirrors Victorian times in the arts. We marvel at and invent bridges between past and present in an effort to define our time and make sense of this highly transitory moment in artistic history.
SELECTION OF SOLO & FEATURE SHOWS
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2024 Joyce Scott/Tim Tate Collaborations,Goya Gallery, Baltimore
2024. Visions Of Our Natural World, Momentum Gallery, Asheville, NC
2023 Glass: Art. Beauty. Design. / Hillwood Museum, Washington, DC
2022 The Hermitage State Museum / St. Petersburg, Russia. With Glasstress 2022
2021 Habatat Gallery 50th Anniversary show in Sept. in Detroit
2021 Boca Raton Museum in Glasstress 2021
2020 The Persistence of After Visions…on Artsy.net with Habatat Gallery
2020 Living Within The Story…on Artsy.net with Habatat Gallery
2020 Habatat International show in Detroit, Mi.
2020 Seager Gray Gallery, Book Show in Marin County, Cal.
2020 Seagar Gray Gallery, Material Matters, Marin County, Cal.
2020 Art Palm Beach Art Fair with Habatat Gallery
2019 Pulse Miami with Alida Anderson Projects
2019 SOFA Chicago, Habatat Gallery
2019 Solo show, Persistence of Visions, Ft. Wayne Museum
2019 Glasstress, in Venice during Beinnale with Ai Wei Wei, Berengo Studios
2019 Habatat Invitational show, Detroit, Mi.
2018 Context Art Fair in Miami during Art Basel with Momentum Gallery, Asheville, NC
2018 Scope, Miami Fl. During ArtBasel week with Habatat Gallery
2018 SOFA Chicago with Habatat Gallery
2018 Into Action!, Los Angeles, Cal. into-action.us
2017 Scope Art Fair, Miami Fla. with Habatat gallery
2017 Form Art Fair, Miami, Fla. with Habatat Gallery
2017 SOFAD Chicago with Habatat Gallery
2017 Affordable Art Fair, Hong Kong, With Spin Gallery
2017 London Contemporary Art Gallery, London
2017 J Willott Gallery, Palm Dessert, Ca.
2016 Scope New York, Habatat Gallery
2016 Palm Springs Art Fair, Habatat Gallery
2015 Scope Miami, Habatat Gallery
2015 SOFA Chicago, Habatat Gallery
2015 Wheaton Glass Weekend, Habatat Gallery
2015 Collective, New York, Wexler Gallery
2015 Art Palm Beach, Habatat Gallery
2014 SOFA Chicago, Habatat Gallery
2014 Art Aspen, Habatat Gallery, Royal Oak, Mi.
2014 Art Mkt San Francisco, Seager Gray Gallery, San Rafeal, Ca.
2014 Art Hamptons, Habatat Gallery
2014 Art Wynwood, Alida Anderson Projects
2014 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Habatat Gallery
2013 Context Art Fair during Art Basel Miami with Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, Ca.
2013 Houston Fine Art Fair, Habatat Gallery, Houston, Tx.
2013 Piazzo Bembo show during Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2013 Katzen Art Center, American University Museum, Video solo show, “Sleep Walker”, Washington, DC
2013 Habatat International Show, Royal Oak, MI.
2012 Orlando Art Museum, 50 Years Of Glass, Orlando, Fla.
2012 Mesa Art Center, Decidedly Digital, Tempe, Ar.
2012 Arkansas Art Center, Digital Dialogs, Little Rock, Ak.
2012 Blue Spiral Gallery, Glass Secessionism, Asheville, NC
2012 St. Petersburg Museum Of Art, St. Petersburg, Florida
2012 Affordable Art Fair, Creative Cohesion, London, England
2012 SOFA New York with Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2012 Art Palm Beach with Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2011 Art Miami at ArtBasel Miami with Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago, Ill.
2011 SOFA Chicago with Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe,New Mexico
2011 Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, NC.
2011 Milwaukee Art Museum, The New Materiality
2011 La Luz de Jesus 25th Anniversary Show, Los Angeles, Cal.
2011 Taubman Museum, Solo Video Exhibit, “The Waking Dreams Of Magdelena Moliere, Roanoke, Va.
2011 Catherine Edelman Gallery, “21st Century Sideshows” Chicago, Ill.
2010 Imago Gallery, Palm Desert, Ca.
2010 Fuller Museum, The New Materiality
2010 Red Dot during ArtBasel Miami, Oxenberg Fine Art, Miami
2010 “Open Season”. Flanders Gallery, N.C.
2010 “Cold + Hot”, Micaela Gallery, San Francisco, Ca.
2010 Habatat International Show, Habatat, Michigan
2010 “Dead Or Alive” – Museum of Art and Design, New York City.
2010 “Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries Of Craft” – Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Mass.
2010 SOFA Chicago, with Habatat, Michigan
2010 Scope – ArtBasel, Switzerland, Micaela Gallery
2009 Miami International Art Fair, Projects Gallery
2009 Red Dot during ArtBasel-Miami with Projects Gallery and Alida Andersen Projects
2009 SOFA Chicago with Maurine Littleton Gallery
2009 Wheaton Arts Glass Weekend with Maurine Littleton Gallery
2009 L.A. Art Fair with Steps Gallery, London
2009 Palm Beach 3 with Maurine Littleton
2008 Steps Gallery, London, England
2008 Bridge Art Fair during ArtBasel with Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa.
2008 Billy Shire Fine Arts, Los Angeles, Ca.
2008 Habatat Gallery, Berkshires, Ma.
2008 SOFA Chicago, with Maurine Littleton Gallery
2008 Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa. (solo)
2008 Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael, Ca. (group show)
2008 Marx-Saunders Gallery, Chicago, Ill. (group show)
2008 Jane Sauer Gallery, Sante Fe, New Mexico (solo)
2008 Gallery 24, Berlin, Germany
2007 FLOW Miami with Duane Reed Gallery/St. Louis,Mo.
2007 S.O.F.A Chicago, with Maureen Littleton Gallery
2007 Glass Weekend, Wheaton Village, New Jersey with Maureen Littleton Gallery
2007 S.O.F.A. New York, with Jane Sauer Gallery
2007 Smithsonian Craft Show, National Building Museum
2007 Fraser Gallery, Bethesda, Md (solo)
2006 Smithsonian American Art Museum , Luce Foundation Center for American Art , Washington, DC 2004 Fraser Gallery, Bethesda, MD (solo)
2001 Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery Washington, DC (permanent collection)
1994 S.O.F.A. Chicago / Wood Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
AWARDS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2023. Speaker w/Deborah Cheresko / The Glass Rainbow - Asheville Art Museum
2023 Speaker, 21st Century Glass, Tacoma Glass Museum
2021 Person Of The Year / Art Alliance For Contemporary Glass
2018 Distinguished Artist Award, James Renwick Alliance
2017 Keynote Panelist on Materiality and Dispute with Glenn Adamson at Yale University
2017 London Contemporary Art Prize, Second Place
2014 Brilliance Award – Habatat Gallery, Royal Oak, Mi.
2013 Curators Pick….Habatat Invitational, Royal Oak, Mi.
2012 Fulbright Scholar, Sunderland University, Sunderland, England
2012 Critic’s Choice Award, Habatat International Invitational, Royal Oak, Mi.
2012 Speaker, GAS Conference on Glass Secessionism
2011 Board of Trustees, Creative Glass Center, Millville, NJ.
2010 Virginia Groot Foundation Award for Sculpture - $35,000 first prize
2009 “Rising Star of the 21st Century” award, Museum of American Glass, N.J
2009 Artist Fellowship Award, District of Columbia Arts and Humanities Council
2008 Instructor : Penland School of Crafts, Penland, N.C.
2008 First Place , Niche Award for Blown Glass, 2008
2008 Speaker – Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, Luce Center for Education, quarterly lectures entitled “The Tim Tate Talks”
2007 Special Honoree ,Best of Fine Arts DC by the Urban Artists Alliance
2007 First Place, International Artist Competition Art- Interview Magazine/Gallery 24, Berlin
2007 Instructor , Glass Furnace , Istanbul, Turkey
2006 Published in “50 Most Distinguished Glass Artists” IL Publishers / London
2006 Board Member, Renwick Alliance
Mint Museum, Permanent Collection
Katzen Art Center / American University, Permanent Collection
University of Richmond Art Museum, Permanent Collection
University of Virginia Art Museum, Permanent Collection
Vanderbilt University, Permanent Collection
2004 Out Magazine People of the Year 2004, Out 100
ArtBaltimore, Best in Sculpture , Baltimore Convention Center
“Art and Healing” Society for the Arts in Healthcare Conference (SAH)
Washington, DC, Keynote Panelist
2003 Mayor’s Art Award – Outstanding Emerging Artist Washington, DC
2002 Artist Fellowship Award, District of Columbia Arts and Humanities Council
2001 Washington Glass School and Studio, Founder and Co-Director
National Capital Art Glass Guild Board Member
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Permanent Collection
2000 Triangle Artist Group, Founder
1998 Art Against AIDS, Co-Director
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Using Art To Explore Advancements In HIV Science, Forbes Magazine, July. 2023
Talking Out Your Glass podcast, April 2020
Podcast/Museum of Glass, Tacoma Aug. 2023
Hey! Magazine / Paris - Dec. 2017 - Feature article
American Craft Magazine, De c. Jan. 2017 - The Spaces Between / feature article
Mass Appeal - Mar. 2016 - Endless Cycle:Tim Tate's Call To End Gun Violence
American Craft Magazine…..Apr/May 2014 issue, “The World Beyond Studio Glass”
Glass Magazine….December 2013….”Glass Secessionism”
Ameican Craft Magazine, “Sin Under Glass”April 2011
Art Glass Today / book published by Schiffer Publishing 2011
Creative Glass / book published by Schiffer Publishing 2011
National Public Radio / Interview on All Things Considered 2010
Glass Quarterly by Geoff Isles (review) March 2009
Chicago Tribune by Allen G. Artner (review) April 2008
Santa Fean by Hollis Walker (review) April 2008
Washington Post by Michael O’Sullivan, (review), May 2007
Washington Post by Michael O’Sullivan, (review and reproduction), March 2007
City Paper by Chris Hobson , review and reproduction, March 2007
Washington Post by Julia Beizer (article and reproduction) , March 2007
The Gazette by Claudia Rousseau , March 2007
Washington Post Express by Kriston Capps , March 2007
Genre Magazine “Heart of Glass” by Mark Liebermann (interview + reproductions) March 2007
50 Distinguished Contemporary Artists in Glass, Edited by Lisa Hoftijzer, (reproduction and essay) selected by Judith Neiswander - curator/British Museum IL Publishers Ltd, London 1st Printing 2006
Sculpture Magazine by Sarah Tanguy (review) September 2006
American Style Magazine “Filling Glass With Meaning: Tim Tate and the Washington Glass School” by Lee Lawerence (article and reproduction) June 2006
Washington Times, by Joanna Shaw Eagle (review and reproduction), May 6, 2006
City Paper by Kriston Capps (review and reproduction) Apr. 28, 2006
Washington Post by Micheal O’Sullivan (review) Apr. 7, 2006
The Gazette by Claudia Rousseau, (review & reproduction), November 22, 2005
PBS Television “Around Town” Broadcast, “Tim Tate and The Washington Glass School” (feature story) aired November 29,2005, Washington, DC.
Washington Blade by Greg Marzullo, (review & reproductions), November 11, 2005
The Gazette by Claudia Rousseau (review), December 22,2004
Out Magazine Top 100 Most Successful People of the Year December, 2004
Washington Post by Jonathon Piaget (review) November 11, 2004
Washington Blade by Brian Moylan, (article & reproductions), November 12, 2004
National Public Radio "Kojo Nmamdi Show" Broadcast interview, aired November 17, 2004
Washington Times , by Joanna Shaw Eagle (review and reproduction), July 10, 2004
City Paper by Jeffery Cudlin (review and reproduction) June 4, 2004.
Glass Talk Radio "Dale Smeltzer Show " Broadcast interview, aired March 9, 2004
This Side Up! (Dutch Magazine) by Angela Van Der Burght (review & reproductions) January,2004
Washington Post Mayor’s Award recipients, January 8, 2004
Washington Blade by Dwaun Sellers, (article & reproductions), June 30, 2003
Washington Post by Michael O’Sullivan (review & reproductions) June 11, 2003
Washington Post by Michael O’Sullivan (review & reproductions) April 26, 2002
Washington Post by Nicky Miller (feature article & reproductions) March 28, 2002
PUBLIC COMMISSIONS
Library Of Congress – Historic Glass Doors
Safeway – Large scale architectural glass wall, Bethesda, Md.
Vanderbilt University – Glass Wall in Nursing Station, Memphis, Tn.
Prince Georges County Courthouse, Cuppola Project, Upper Marlboro, Md.
Food And Friends Donor Wall – Washington, DC
District Government Project - Wilson Building Public Art
Liberty Park at Liberty Center, Outdoor Sculpture Commission, Arlington, VA
The Adele, Outdoor Sculpture Commission Silver Spring, MD (under construction)
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ariel Rios Building Courtyard, Outdoor Sculpture Commission,
Washington, DC
National Institute of Health (NIH) Sculpture Commission, Hatfield Clinic, Bethesda, MD
Upper Marlboro Courthouse, Sculpture Commission, Prince Georges County, MD
American Physical Society / Baltimore Science Center, Sculpture Commission, Baltimore, MD
The Residences of Rosedale, Outdoor Sculpture Commission, Bethesda, MD
Holy Cross Hospital, Sculpture for Oncology Ward, Silver Spring, MD
The Carmen Group, Sculpture Commission, Washington, DC
Winner, International Competition, New Orleans AIDS Monument, New Orleans, LA
