Erik Attia

Sculpture

Erik Attia has had a passion for arts and sciences from his youth. Born to parents who emigrated from Egypt to the US in the 60’s, he was exposed to both Egyptian and American culture. His father travelled extensively and frequently returned with books from all over the world. Of particular interest to Erik were books about wildlife and art.

Growing up in northern New Jersey, Erik had the opportunity to frequent the many museums of New York City while also enjoying the outdoor activities offered by his suburban home. Many of his childhood summers were spent in Cairo where he was exposed to magnificent temples and museums filled with ancient Egyptian art.

Eventually, his passions led him to pursue a degree in Biology from Rutgers University with a minor in Anthropology. At Rutgers he also found an outlet for his creativity through courses in Art History, drawing, painting and sculpture.

Erik continues to satisfy his scientific interests as a Research Associate at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York where he studies ligament healing.

As an artist, he creates exotic masks influenced by natures designs. Reflecting inspiration from the striking crests of birds, and the patterned scaling of reptiles, to the brightly colored coral reefs. Working from a studio in Bogota, New Jersey, his masks are created using age old papier-mâché techniques. The masks are then hand-painted, or airbrushed and embellished with a variety of fine trims, natural gems and genuine Austrian crystals. Each mask is then crested with a variety of materials including natural and dyed feathers, hand-made paper wings, or light weight horns.

Over the years many galleries have carried Erik’s works and his clientele includes Cirque du Soleil and Maskarade in New Orleans.

Erik was selected as one of ten “artists to watch” in (201) Magazine’s 2010 Arts issue, and in November 2010 one of his masks was selected as a gift from Cirque du Soleil to the British Royal Family.