John Atkin studied painting at Leicester Polytechnic and at the Sculpture School, Royal College of Art, London.

His exhibition of new drawings and sculpture, "Reivers", speculates on a contemporary view of 16th Century British history in the light of contemporary global conflict. A ‘Reiver’, or specifically the ‘Border Reivers’, were great leaders of tribes, battling and contesting the borders of early Scotland and England. They were a unique breed: fighting men of great resource leading bands of outlaws and peasants, well versed in the skills of tracking, theft, and raiding. Responding to this theme Atkin draws
and sculpts ‘meditations on man’s destructive tendencies, exploring his interest in the technologies of conflict. His sculptures depict surreal machine-like people of a post-apocalyptic future

Mr. Atkin’s work has been included in the European exhibition "Thinking Big: Concepts for 21st Century British Sculpture" opening at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice in September 2002. He has exhibited his series "Scorched Earth" at the Philadelphia Art Alliance and recently has been commissioned by the Ipswich River Action Group to create a large-scale
sculpture in Ipswich, UK. His work has been exhibited widely in England, Europe, Australia and the United States.