Artist Focus: Bobby Zokaites

Sculptor Bobby Zokaites applies his imagination to the creation of large-scale, colorful, interactive objects and spaces, designed to stimulate viewer engagement. “The natural world is more surreal than anything I could invent, and my sculptures often begin with those encounters,” explains Zokaites. “Since moving to Arizona, I’ve become fascinated by the Sonoran Desert’s particular qualities: its unusual plant forms, dramatic geology, intense sunlight, and the unexpected vividness of color in an environment that may seem sparse at first.

Bobby Zokaites, A Time Machine Called Tinaja, steel, polyurethane and LEDs, taller arch: 19 ft. x 16 in. x 15 ft. 8 in., shorter arch: 14 ft. 10 in. x 2 ft. 8 in. x 24 in.

“Light is a recurring element in my work,” he continues. “I often combine steel with translucent materials to explore how light activates color and transforms a sculpture as you move around it and throughout the day, especially in the desert’s intense sunlight.” In The Ocotillos, hundreds of small translucent leaves catch the desert sun at different angles, recreating the dazzling light that inspired the sculptures. Integrated into a breezeway, The Oculus uses light to emphasize the radial geometry of an agave. In A Time Machine Called Tinaja,two blue arches translate water’s fluidity and luminosity into a passage visitors can move through. Zokaites explains, “These sculptures don’t reproduce the desert literally; they draw from its forms and phenomena to create new experiences. I’m less interested in representing the landscape than in recreating the feeling of discovering something extraordinary within it.” —