Created May 28, 2020

Day 79 - A summation of the thoughts consuming me during this pandemic, this fictional place is an amalgamation of signs along the abandoned Route 66 and the America that once was. As the fossil fuel age comes to an end, so does the need for roadside gas stations, drive-thrus, and motels that dominated our auto-centric culture. What will replace the freedom of the open road and the promise just beyond the horizon?

From exhibition America Disrupted, featuring a series of watercolors painted during the Covid-19 quarantine. At once a record of the artist’s emotional response to our current era, it is also a time Jay Samit found himself conflicted about his nation’s history. Part therapeutic, part social commentary, Samit’s palette reveals the fissures in American society further exposed by this unsettling period.