2017 Periscope Alum, Tony Sobota was selected for Artfields 2021, one of the largest art shows in the South! ArtFields started in 2013 with a simple goal: honor the artists of the Southeast with 9 days worth of celebration and competition while revitalizing the small Southern town of Lake City, South Carolina. Tony featured his artwork titled “5th + Broad” In a note to ABC, Tony stated that “5th + Broad” represents my largest movable work to date at 48” x 120”—a representation of the dynamic changes right in the heart of Nashville.”
Beginning as a single pano snapshot, ‘5th + Broad’ evolved over four years of on-site and studio painting (2017-2021). Like many of the seismic cultural changes pulsing through the US, standing before a massive construction site prompts several questions: What is happening here? Who is behind this? Is it coming together or coming apart? This monument to human effort also serves as a stand-in for hope in the midst of trauma, even as Nashville itself continues to pick up the pieces from the 2020 explosion in the heart of the city. Using a process that balances faithfulness to the scene with ‘compassion’ for the paint, I find myself reflecting on a final question: “Can I value the process of becoming, or just anxiously await the removal of the scaffolding?”
Learn more about Tony Sobota’s selection in Artfields 2021.