Josh Jenkins' photostream

Josh Jenkins has been practicing art his entire life. He grew up in upstate New York and Central Kentucky. As a kid Jenkins favorite thing to do was draw cartoons and sketch portraits of dogs. By his pre teens he became highly influenced by Japanese Animation consistently drawing his favorite anime characters and even creating his own. Throughout his High School years Jenkins’ work transformed as he began straying away from drawing cartoons and leaned more toward drawing fine art. A big influence in his life as an artist was when he discovered work by Dali and Picasso. It wasn’ t until his senior year of High School when Jenkins grew a greater interest in painting and began seriously thinking about becoming an artist.

Originally Jenkins’ was enrolled to attend a technical school after High School in Louisville, Kentucky for Graphic Design, but at the last minute was accepted into Marist College back in his home town in Poughkeepsie, New York. Jenkins’ immediately packed his things, leaving his life in Kentucky behind him and moved back to New York to attend college making a step closer to obtaining his new dream of becoming an established artist. Right away Jenkins enrolled himself in art classes taking basic drawing classes. It wasn’ t until his second year that Jenkins’ first took a painting class that completely changed him. Before this point Jenkins primarily stuck to drawing, but once he took his first painting class he knew right away he was more then just a drawer. Being in College and taking Art History classes through out the years Jenkins quickly began being influenced by artists, discovering their techniques, concepts and stories behind their work.

College was a huge growing point for Jenkins as a person and as an artist. His work was constantly evolving from one painting to the next as he experimented with new styles and concepts. Jenkins was a highly motivated artist pounding out at least twenty paintings a semester with a countless number of drawings. His fellow classmate’ s in the art department began nick naming him “ the machine” . By his junior year Jenkins already began showing his work around the Hudson Valley, New York. He graduated from Marist College (Poughkeepsie, NY) in 2010 with a B.A. in Digital Media and a minor in Studio Art.

By the time he graduated Jenkins already knew of the vast amount talent in the Hudson Valley area including a select amount of worldly known artists that he wanted to find a way to network them all together. Only a month after graduation Jenkins’ founded the HVA teaming up with his friend and co-founder, Ty Marshal. He started the group in hope to connect the local artists together and to help revitalize the Hudson Valley’ s art scene.

Jenkins currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he continues to pursue his life long dream of becoming an established artist.

The work of Josh Jenkins focuses primarily on self-expression. He is hesitant to label himself in a school of art, because he doesn’ t want to feel constricted in a specific field, however considers himself a neo abstract expressionist. Jenkins’ work is strong, raw, violent, and rough using mixed mediums and vibrant colors to exemplify an overpowering feeling of emotion. His work is less painterly and more drawn based. Jenkins has been highly influenced by street art and artists like Dekooning, Basquiat and Picasso. He is devoted to the power of line feeling that it is the voice of a painting and incorporates it in all of his work.

The subject matter of Jenkins' works evolves around figures, sexuality, self-reflections, religion and emotions. Not being the verbally out spoken type in person Jenkins articulates himself through his art. He uses art to express his feelings and thoughts on his personal life, beliefs and his perceptions of the world around him.

Jenkins work is constantly evolving as he challenges himself to discover new ways to express himself and to break down boundaries of traditional art. In a sense Jenkins is a rebel intentionally incorporating the dos and don’ ts in his work. He understands the importance of the traditional training in painting and drawing, but at the same time using that knowledge to go against itself. Jenkins feels that art should have no rules, guidelines or boundaries and tries to find new ways to break them by working around them in all of his work.

Exhibitions:
2010 Collaboration, "Mood Watcher(s)", Meld, Pink Hair Affair, Philadelphia, PA
2010 Group Exhibition, “ (in) case” , (r) evolution art studio, Syracuse, NY
2010 Annual Student Exhibition, Marist College Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
2009 Solo Exhibition, Floor One Gallery, Beacon, NY
2009 Annual Student Exhibition, Marist College Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
2008 Duo Exhibition, Zuzu's Leaf & Bean, Beacon, NY
2008 Annual Student Exhibition, Marist College Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
2008 Group Exhibition, "Landing", Muddy Cup Coffe House, Poughkeepsie, NY
2007 Annual Student Exhibition, Marist College Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY

Accomplishments
2010 Interviewed for "New School, a moving portrait of Hudson Valley Artists", an
independent film by Ty Marshal premiered at Dia: Beacon Museum in upstate New York.
2010 Founder of the HVA (Hudson Valley Artists) www.HVArtists.com

Blog:
jmjenkins.tumblr.com/

Website:
www.joshjenkins.com