Artist Statement
I am a painter and multidisciplinary artist whose work is shaped by the contrasting landscapes of my life—growing up in Poughkeepsie, New York, with frequent exposure to the urban energy of New York City and Philadelphia, alongside formative years spent in rural Kentucky. This duality continues to inform my visual language, where the grit and immediacy of the city intersect with the quiet intensity of the countryside, creating a balance between raw expression and emotional atmosphere.
My primary work is figurative and rooted in Expressionism, drawing inspiration from artists such as Georg Baselitz, Jean-Michel Basquiat, George Condo, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Pablo Picasso, and Cy Twombly. My figurative works are also influenced by the visual immediacy of street art, Naïve Art, and Pop Art. Through bold color, gestural mark-making, and mixed media processes, I construct layered compositions that explore identity, masculinity, vulnerability, and human connection through the lens of my experience as a gay man. The male figure remains central to my practice—often distorted, fragmented, or emotionally charged—as a means of examining both personal and collective experiences of selfhood and belonging.
While figurative painting continues to anchor my work, my practice has gradually expanded into broader interdisciplinary and abstract approaches in recent years. Across painting, collage, and material experimentation, I am increasingly interested in surface, texture, and the accumulation of time. Drawing inspiration from weathered urban environments, natural decay, found materials, and digital manipulation, I embrace spontaneity, imperfection, and chance within the creative process. Industrial textures, layered marks, spills, and erosion become visual records of tension, transformation, and endurance.
Currently based in Louisville, I continue to seek inspiration from both urban environments and the natural landscapes of the Great Lakes and Appalachian regions. Across all aspects of my practice, my work remains an exploration of contrast—between beauty and deterioration, strength and vulnerability, chaos and intimacy—inviting viewers to uncover the layered emotional narratives embedded within each piece.
Born: 1987, New Jersey, USA
Education: BA Digital Media, Studio Art (Minor), Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY (2006-2010)
CV
Selected Curriculum Vitae
Solo Exhibitions
2026 “Visceral Desires”, KORE Gallery, Louisville, KY
2024 “From Nowhere to Somewhere to Somewhere Else”, KORE Gallery, Louisville, KY
2023 “Tag Your It (Guerrilla Series)”, Revelry Gallery, Louisville, KY
2019 “Moments In Time”, KORE Gallery, Louisville, KY
2017 “Summertime”, Lenihan | Sotheby International, Louisville, KY
2017 ”Somewhere In Between Anxiety & Serenity”, KORE Gallery, Louisville KY
2016 ”An Urban Expression”, Gallery K, Louisville, KY
2016 “Figurative Abstractions”, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
2016 “From Then Till Now”, Andrew Gentile Antiques, Louisville, KY
2015 ”Redefining Street Art” New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
2014 ”Exposed”, Entrepôt & AARON MAPP Gallery, Miami, FL
2014 ”Transition”, Regalo Gift’s 4th St Gallery Loft, Louisville, KY
2014 ”Slave to Impulse”, Tim Faulkner Gallery, Louisville, KY
2013 ”Ascertainment”, Regalo Gift’s 4th St Gallery Loft, Louisville, KY
2012 ”Portraits of Expression”, The Gallery at Tech Gallery, Syracuse, NY
2009 ”Untitled”, Floor One Gallery, Beacon, NY
Group Exhibitions
2026 "Transmit”, Alchemy Collective, Louisville, KY
2025 "New Interpretations", KORE Gallery, Louisville, KY
2025 “Queer Convergence”, UofL Hite Art Institute’s Schneider Hall Gallery, Louisville, KY
2023 “Texting”, Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY
2023 “Black & White”, KORE Gallery, Louisville, KY (Work Voted Best In Show)
2023 ”Untitled Group Show”, Louisville Thoroughbred Society, Louisville, KY
2022 “Black & White”, KORE Gallery, Louisville, KY
2018 “Welcome Home”, The Galleries at Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY
2018 “Media Circus”, Trio Contemporary Art Gallery, Athens, GA
2018 “Black & White”, KORE Gallery, Louisville, KY
2018 “Mirror, Memory, Identity”, ArtsPlace (LexArts), Lexington, KY
2017 “Riffing Van Gogh”, Caza Sikes, Cincinnati, OH
2017 “Meet Your Neighbors: Feminine and LGBTQ+ Perspectives”, 1619 Flux: Art + Activism, Louisville, KY
2017 ”Queer Voices”, OPEN Community Arts Center, Louisville, KY
2017 ”GRIDWORKS REVISITED!”, New Editions Gallery, Lexington KY
2016 ”Navigate Exhibition”, 1619 Flux: Art + Activism, Louisville, KY
2016 ”Queer Voices”, Gallery K, Louisville, KY
2016 ”Beyond Borders Exhibit”, Pat Harrison Arts Center Gallery, New Albany, IN
2016 ”Touched With Fire”, Kaviar Forge & Gallery, Louisville, KY
2015 ”LVA Open Studio Weekend Exhibition”, Cressman Center, Louisville, KY
2015 ”Artists in Our Midst”, Kaviar Forge & Gallery, Louisville, KY
2015 ”Cinema Killed the Video Star”, Public Gallery, Louisville, KY
2014 ”LVA Open Studio Weekend Exhibition”, Cressman Center, Louisville, KY
2014 ”Safe Place”, IDEAS 40203, Louisville, KY
2012 ”Urban Art Show”, Mellwood Art Center, Louisville, KY
2010 ”(in) case”, Revolution Art Studios, Syracuse, NY
Interviews, Press, Features, and Notable Mentions
2025 Recipient of Great Meadows Artist Professional Development Grant
2024 Featured Artist / Mini Exhibit at West Elm, Louisville, KY (August/September)
2023 ”The Ceramistist (The Creator)” painting voted “BEST IN SHOW” for the annual “Black & White” (Juried Show) group exhibit at KORE Gallery, Louisville, KY
2023 Featured Artist / Mini Exhibit at West Elm, Louisville, KY (June)
2023 Artwork Featured in “Printed: Edition Two“
2021 Personal Zine Featured in “Printed: Edition One“
2021 Painting “Kids Playing with Gun” featured in the 32nd edition of Ariel Magazine (a product of Bellarmine University’s literary society.)
2017 Interviewed for “How to Be An Artist” Podcast by Wendy Aracich, Episode #6
2017 Featured Artwork, “The Craft is Creating a Home’s Story”, Kentucky Homes & Gardens (print), January Issue (pg. 47&49)
2016 Recipient of Great Meadows Artist Professional Development Grant
2016 Nutritious AND Satisfying Art: From Then Till Now – Work by Joshua Jenkins. A review by Keith Waits (Editor for Arts-Louisville.com)
2015 Featured article/spread, “Uncensored Expressionism”, Modern Louisville (print), Nov/Dec issue, Louisville, KY
2014 Interviewed for “Conversations with Lori”, The Voice-Tribune (print), Louisville, KY
2013 Featured Artist in Canyon Voices Literary Magazine
Collections
The University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Jenkins’ works are also in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.