Ed Potokar is an artist, musician, and designer who melds sound sculpture, audio architecture and handcrafted musical instruments into a virtuosic display of craftsmanship and visionary artistry.

The son of a jazz drummer with a diverse array of influences ranging from Miro to Mancini, Duchamp to Moog, and Eames to Bowie, Potokar utilizes his expertise to design and play unusual, intriguing sculptural instruments that create adventurous sonic and visual landscapes. He has invented a world where primitive and modern sounds perform a delicate dance in the context of the provocative shapes that trigger them. This curiosity in sonic objects led him to The Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), where he graduated with a BFA in industrial design and sculpture.

“I find that music and sculpture are parallel interests for me and I have been doing both for as long as I can remember,” comments Potokar. “In this time of complex technology, there are still simple ideas that can be explored, and I enjoy making something from nothing. I actually find sculpture and music to be quite similar and my instruments, performances, and architectural elements are the result of a quest for something different that bridges the worlds of design, audio, and art.”

His work and performances have been showcased in shows in Soho, Brooklyn, Atlanta, and Hartford, and at the Prada Foundation in Venice, Italy, as part of the Venice Biennale. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Modern Painter, Elle Décor, DesignBoom, Guitar Aficionado, Fast Company, Co.Create, as well as on NewYork1 News, VH1, WNYC’s “Soundcheck”, the BBC and NBC’s Today Show. He is currently featured in Music Of the Future, a European documentary.

Potokar was recently invited back to perform and exhibit commissioned artworks at LongHouse Reserve’s annual benefits in East Hampton, NY, celebrating Cindy Sherman, Agnes Gund and Kiki Smith. He has been invited 3 times to the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition at Georgia Tech, where he won awards for the most unusual instrument and a special judges’ award.