“The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short.” -Abraham Maslow, Psychologist. 

Jerry Atkins first examined and explored the human psyche with a scientific approach through a career in psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine with a focus in psychoanalysis. It was during his time as a medical student that he first began to attend sculpture & pottery workshops to explore his interest in representing the human condition artistically. As his technique and style began to draw attention, he decided to formally pursue sculpture academically at the McNay Art Institute in 1970. When he later returned to New York, he continued his career in psychology with a successful practice as a psychoanalyst, but at the same time started an artist studio in Woodstock, NY.

Atkins’ work exudes a profoundly recognizable signature style, which he developed early on and has never strayed from to experiment or question.  His subject matter is always an examination on the limitations and tribulations of life, as it exists in this reality. Whether a recognizable human form, or abstracted animal form, his figures are reduced to the most basic elements. Void of any individualistic features, his subjects are meant to convey the universal commonality of their condition. Atkins’ work does not only portray the human condition, but also comments on its philosophical implications. For example, in Self Portrait In a Cage (2005), the figure is seemingly imprisoned in a cage, however, at further glance it is clear that the bars offer wide gaps from which the figure can easily pass through at any moment. Thus, the question Atkins poses: Why does the Self choose imprisonment?

In relation to the heavy contextual backdrop of his work is the importance of Atkins’ use of materiality. Unlike the light and whimsical brushstrokes of a watercolor painting, Atkins’ sculptures demand attention and seriousness via weight, mass and domineering angularity. His 3D examinations of Self and Ego take physical space to understand their plight, just as all living beings do. And the perceived weight of the bronze castings emphasize the emotional weight that the work exudes. The remarkable quality of Atkins’ castings is linked to his longstanding professional relationship with the historic Modern Art Foundry in Astoria, Queens founded in 1932. 

Atkins has been producing work for over 50 years now and his artistic career has included longstanding representation with the The Roko Gallery, and The Kraushaar Galleries, as well as shows at the Kornblatt Gallery and Art Latitude Gallery. Atkins lives in New York City and Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, where he currently produces new work.

Jerry Atkins

133 Norfolk Street, New York, NY 10002

Born July 6, 1939 in Brooklyn, NY

Lives and works in New York City and Egg Harbor, NJ

Self-taught artist

Education

1961 B.A. - Rutgers University, Newark, NJ

1965 M.D. - NYU Medical School, New York, NY

Select Exhibitions

2023 KAI Gallery, New York, NY, Jerry Atkins and the Dimensions of Reflection

2021 KAI Gallery, Southampton, NY, The Struggle of Self – Jerry Atkins

2019 Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY, 76th th Regional Exhibition

2019 Plaxall Gallery, Long Island City, NY, Inside/ Outside

2018 Aqua Art Miami, Miami, FL during Art Basel Week, Shim Gallery

2017  Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY, Duality: Glimpses of the Other Side

2017   Vander Plas Gallery, New York, NY, Art & Murmuration

2017 Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, January Salon Exhibition

2016 Shim Gallery, New York, NY, Atkins & The Psyche

2011  Bancroft Gallery, Cohasset, MA, Sources & Origins

2010  Washington Art Association, Washington Depot, CT, Northeast Juried Exhibition

2009 Still Point Gallery, Brunswick, ME, Dwellings

2009 Caladan Gallery, Cambridge, MA, Gesture, Action and Expression

2009   Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY, A Show of Heads

1990 Kraushaar Galleries, New York, NY, Jerry Atkins

1986 Kraushaar Galleries, New York, NY, Introspection of Form, Jerry Atkins

1977 Roko Gallery, New York, NY, The Other Side of Self – Jerry Atkins