Sight Unseen OFFSITE

Ashira Israel (b. 1982) is an artist and architectural designer living and working in Accord, NY. She received her Bachelors of Architecture from Pratt Institute and AS in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is owner and lead architectural designer/fabricator of IN.SEK. Her passion lies in working in between the fields of architecture and art, blurring the boundaries of the disciplines she was classically trained in. Ashira's hands-on design approach is critical to her creation process.

Dana Bechert (b. 1990) is a Conestoga, Pennsylvania-based ceramicist who creates functional art objects. Her hand-thrown pottery is often adorned with sgraffito pictographs etched into the object’s pigmented surface before firing to reveal a contrasting layer of white porcelain underneath. Dana's graphic patterns reference nature, Native American pottery, and Japanese textiles. The resulting designs range from geometrically complex patterns to playful, improvisational doodles.

Matthew Ward (b.1976) approaches pottery through a multi-disciplinary lens. Trained as a painter, he brings techniques traditionally reserved for two dimensional work into the realm of ceramics, incorporating techniques such as stamping and incising, as well as art historical concepts from the mid-20th century and postwar art. Ward is based in Santa Fe, NM and has been featured in publications such as Metropolis and Dwell.

Chad Kouri (b. 1985) is a Chicago, Illinois-based artist known for his intuitive, vibrant compositions that utilize the holistic properties of color and abstraction. His mixed-race identity is mirrored by his multidisciplinary studio practice, focusing broadly on visual art, music, and design while considering theories based in minimalism, color theory, semiotics, improvisation, and radical joy. Utilizing a wide range of skillsets and strategies, Kouri reminds us to stay curious and make time for play, rest, and introspection, enabling us more bandwidth for mutual aid and collective community care.

Ben Skinner (b.1977) is a Canadian artist who explores the nature of language through the use of text and materiality. His works often combine mechanical production methods common in sign making with traditional materials and techniques, such as hand-applied gold leaf and silk marbling. The phrases within the works seamlessly weave together humor and pain to explore the incongruities of daily life. He graduated with a BFA in Interdisciplinary Fine Art from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax in 2000, and with an MFA in Art and Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2003.