CUBED Mural | Pensacola, Florida
In 2023, artist Banks Compton participated in CUBED, a public art exhibition associated with the Pensacola Museum of Art in downtown Pensacola, Florida.
Participating artists were each given an 8-by-8-foot panel to transform with an original work of art. Four painted panels came together to form freestanding cubes displayed in Museum Plaza.
Given the freedom to choose his own subject, Banks used the opportunity to create something personal: a tribute to home, childhood, and rural Alabama.
A Tribute to Home in Downtown Pensacola
Exhibition: CUBED
Location: Museum Plaza, Pensacola, Florida
Artist: Banks Compton
Year: 2023
Size: 8' × 8'
Project: Temporary Public Art Installation
Subject: Rural Alabama, Home & Memory
Original Source: Personal Family Photograph
Status: Temporary installation; no longer on display
Project at a Glance
CUBED at Museum Plaza
The project brought the work of multiple artists together in a shared public setting, with four individual 8-by-8-foot artworks forming each cube.
Unlike a permanent mural painted directly onto a building, Banks' CUBED mural was created as a temporary public artwork. It remained on display in Museum Plaza during 2023 before the installation was eventually removed.
Its temporary nature makes photographs of the completed project particularly important documentation of the work.
Painting a Personal Memory
Rather than creating imagery specifically about Pensacola, Banks looked back toward his own home for inspiration.
The mural was based on a personal photograph of a family friend walking with the family's dog through the landscape surrounding Banks' family farm in Alabama.
Banks translated the photograph into a colorful painted scene of a young boy and Border Collie walking together along a rural path. The composition captures an ordinary moment while preserving the people, animals, and landscape associated with home.
The Oval as a Window Into Another Place
The central scene is contained within a large oval rather than extending across the entire square panel.
That shape became increasingly important in Banks' artwork and has continued to appear in later paintings and murals.
The oval functions almost like a window or portal, separating the painted landscape from its surroundings and inviting the viewer to look into another place, memory, or moment.
Placed in the middle of downtown Pensacola, the mural offered a small window into the rural Alabama landscape Banks considers home.
From Personal Painting to Public Art
While many of Banks' murals begin with the history, identity, or goals of a client, CUBED provided an opportunity to approach a public mural more like a piece of personal fine art.
The project connects Banks' mural practice with recurring themes in his studio work: nature, memory, home, ordinary moments, animals, and the landscapes of Alabama.
About Banks Compton
Banks Compton is an Alabama-based mural artist, public artist, and RISD alumnus creating murals and fine art throughout Alabama, Florida, the Southeast, and across the United States.
His work ranges from large commercial and community murals to temporary public installations and paintings exploring nature, place, and personal storytelling.
Looking for a Mural Artist in Pensacola?
Banks creates murals and public art for businesses, schools, cultural organizations, public spaces, and private clients throughout Pensacola, Northwest Florida, Alabama's Gulf Coast, and the Southeast.