UNDER THE ARCHES

Public needs like shade, light, shelter, and wayfinding can become catalysts for public art, by revealing how functional investments in the built environment also hold potential for cultural expression. When artistic thinking is integrated into these systems, practical infrastructure expands to help shape the visual identity of a space, influencing how it is navigated, inhabited, and remembered.

Working at the intersection of sculpture and infrastructure, Bobby Zokaites approaches public art as both a cultural and civic act, transforming complex public challenges into opportunities for connection and shared identity. Each project emerges from sustained research and is grounded in careful attention to place and shaped through conversation with the communities and partners involved. Through expansive photography and behind-the-scenes documentation, this book reveals the full lifecycle of large-scale commissions: from early sketches and research to fabrication, installation, and public reception. Essays from project leaders illuminate the interdisciplinary effort required to bring these works into being, offering insight into integrated public art methodologies.

More than a retrospective, this volume positions public art as an essential component of the civic landscape. Conceived as both archive and reflection, Under the Arches establishes a foundation for the studio’s next chapter while contributing to a broader conversation about the evolving role of public art in contemporary life. A decade in the making, this book chronicles the first ten years of Zokaites Sculpture’s ambitious public art practice.

Bobby Zokaites is a U.S. based sculptor skilled in a variety of materials with a wealth of experience producing large scale works for private and public spaces. His industrious work ethic and urban design sense enable him to create distinctive works of art that foster new and dynamic relationships between community, site, history and the natural environment. Blurring the line between fine art, public sculpture, and collaborative practices, his work engages diverse audiences, humanizes public spaces, and often encourages participation with larger-than-life-sized artwork. Zokaites earned his BFA at New York College of Ceramics at Alfred University (2008) and his MFA in Sculpture at Arizona State University (2014). He is currently commissioned for nine permanent public art sculptures underway in Arizona, Idaho, and Minnesota. It is integral to Zokaites’ practice that his work connects residents to one another and their community in new ways, creating new and lasting experiences.