Atkinson was born in
Thurnscoe, near
Barnsley, Yorkshire. He lives in Leamington Spa, England with his wife, artist Sue Atkinson, with whom he has frequently collaborated. In 1967, he began to teach art at the
Coventry School of Art while producing
conceptual works, sometimes in collaboration with Michael Baldwin. In 1968 they, together with
Harold Hurrell and
David Bainbridge who also taught at
Coventry, formed
Art & Language, a group whose influence on other artists both in the UK and in the United States is widely acknowledged. Atkinson was founder-member (with colleagues
John Bowstead, Roger Jeffs and Bernard Jennings) of the group Fine-Artz (1963), and (with David Bainbridge, Michael Baldwin and Harold Hurrell) of the group Art & Language (1968–74), two of the most influential collectives in contemporary Western art. Atkinson stopped teaching at
Coventry in 1973 and the following year left
Art & Language. He has since exhibited under his own name, including at the 1984
Venice Biennale ==Recognition and representation in collections==