Jesse Berlin, MFA

Tucson, AZ

1981-

 

         Jesse Berlin has been an avid sculptor from early childhood.  He received a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  While at SAIC he worked at the International Museum of Surgical Science as the curator of the Anatomy in the Gallery program, a rotating  exhibition of contemporary artists who produce medically themed art.  After graduating from SAIC, Jesse spent two years studying facial Prosthetics at the James J. Peters Veterans Administration Medical Center in conjunction with Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.  In 2013 he received an MFA in Sculpture from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

 

Jesse has exhibited from coast to coast, won several awards, and has had his worked featured in several periodicals and twice on Tucson's ABC affiliate morning show.  In 2022, one of his sculptures was used as the basis for a character in the hit Netflix series "The Sandman."  After completing his MFA, Jesse returned to Tucson his hometown of Tucson, where he was an active member of the local art community.  He has organized and curated local events including the annual Tucson Erotica exhibition and Tucson Sculpture Fest.  Additionally, Jesse has taught classes at The Drawing Studio, The Sculpture Resource Center, Pima Community College, and Romero House Potters, where he served for three years as the Studio Manager and and taught Anatomy and Figure Modeling.  He is currently serving as the Artist in Residence and Professor of Sculpture at Hastings College in Nebraska where he continues to produce arresting and provocative sculpture.