Beset by problems, I lob my soup over some art (9)
I believe the answer is:
symbolism
'some art' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'beset by problems i lob my soup over' is the wordplay.
'beset by' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (the answer is surrounded or beset within the clue).
'over' says the letters should be written backwards.
'msilobmys' is hidden in the letters of 'problems i lob my soup'.
'msilobmys' backwards is 'SYMBOLISM'.
(Other definitions for symbolism that I've seen before include "Mystical artistic and poetic movement" , "Allegory" .)