Shifting Balance: Reflections on Land, Climate, and Beauty

Mary-Ann Kokoska was born in Toronto, Canada.  Her education includes an MFA from Concordia University in Montreal, a BFA from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, as well as an Advanced Certificate from the St. Martin’s School of Art in London, England. 

She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in commercial and public galleries, and alternative artist-run centers. Some of these are located in: Toronto, Montreal, New York , Denver, London, Wales, Prague, Italy.  She is currently a member of the Artnauts Collective as well as an alumni member of A.I.R. Gallery, NY.  Her work can be found in corporate, private, and public museum collections. 

Ms. Kokoska is also the recipient of awards from the Canada Council, The Ontario Arts Council and Colorado State University where she is currently a Professor of Drawing in the Department of Art and Art History.

Sabin’s work is based on her interest in how society defines and utilizes the natural
world in an environment increasingly affected by industry, climate change, and digital
interventions. Her examinations of the landscape take many forms, from detailed pen
and ink drawings to photographs, traditional sculpture to site-specific installations.
Born and raised in Westchester, NY, Sabin attended the Rhode Island School of Design,
graduating with a BFA in Sculpture in 2006. She received her MFA in Sculpture from
the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2016. Sabin has attended several residencies
including the Wassaic Project and the Arctic Circle Residency. Her work has been
exhibited in galleries nationwide including at the Evans School in association with
RedLine Contemporary Art Center in Denver, CO, Ortega Y Gasset in Brooklyn, NY,
and Five Points Gallery in Torrington, CT. She is Continuing Faculty in Foundations at
Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO.

Erika Osborne received her BFA from the University of Utah in painting and drawing and her MFA from the University of New Mexico. Erika’s artwork deals with cultural connections to place and environment. She has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally, with over ten solo exhibitions and over 80 group exhibitions in recent years – including shows at the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Nevada Museum of Art and the Chautauqua Institute. Erika has also been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a recent Fulbright fellowship. Her work has been highlighted in five books surveying the evolution of land and environmental art in the West.  Erika’s work has also been featured in national publications along with international art magazines such as New American Paintings, Art Papers, Sculpture Magazine and Southwest Art Magazine.

Johnny Plastini received his BA in interdisciplinary studio art from the University of California, Santa Cruz [2008] and received his MFA in printmaking from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [2012]. He has completed group artist residencies at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine [2012], the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont [2019], and MUDHOUSE in Crete, Greece [2021]. He has also been invited as a solo visiting artist-in-residence at Temple University, Rome both in [2017] and [2021]. Johnny Plastini is currently an Associate Professor of Art and Area Coordinator of Printmaking in the Department of Art and Art History at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO.