Bobby Zokaites
Artist Bio
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 recently completed two permanent municipal infrastructure projects in Arizona. 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.
Artist Statement
I am a sculptor who engages my imagination through the creation of large-scale, colorful, interactive objects and spaces. Enthusiastic about the idea of ‘play’, I investigate themes of adventure and childhood, while utilizing fabrication and assembly methods inspired by industrial processes. This combination of play and industry creates distinctive works of art that activate the surrounding environment and encourage audience engagement. The audience is often invited to see, hear, and interact with installations which blur the lines between artist and viewer. The magic really happens when children start to show their parents ways to interact with the work.
Artist Work
Title: Tempe Street Car
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Sculpture, Installation/Site-Specific
Description: Tempe Streetcar | VALLEY METRO (AZ)
Sign Remix — blends the boulevard’s rich history of iconic signage with contemporary materials.
Superbloom — 10 luminarias on antique light-posts are a colorful abstraction of Arizona’s famous superblooms.
Antonym for a Tchotchke — abstracted air handlers on high pay homage to Tempe’s industrial history.
Title: A Time Machine Called Tinaja
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Sculpture, Installation/Site-Specific
Description: A Time Machine Called Tinaja | PHOENIX (AZ)
Working with the City and Dig Studio, we returned a defunct well-site to its community as a set of sculptural arches, luminaries, perimeter fencing and landscaped-paths; these concepts were seeded by local students’ expressed desires for their walk to school.
Title: The Oculus
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Sculpture, Installation/Site-Specific
Description: The Oculus | PHOENIX COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL (AZ)
Students and faculty at Phoenix Country Day School developed a spiral aloe design concept for this permanent, architecturally-integrated amenity. Working with architect Doug Brown (Architekton), I then designed, manufactured, and installed The Oculus, linking the structured school setting with its desert environment.
Location
85016