Under the Arches: Sculpting Connections Between Infrastructure and Community

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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1964490278
• ISBN13: 9781964490274
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers
• Length: 176 Pages