Under Warm Water

Spinello Projects, Miami, FL

January 28 - March 11, 2023

Spinello Projects is excited to present Under Warm Water, the debut solo exhibition by Zoe Schweiger. This exhibition features a series of recent paintings that explore the theme of rising waters in the artist's hometown of Miami.

Schweiger paints with a sense of urgency, using a quickness in her brushstrokes that reflects the intensity of the climate crisis. The paintings in this exhibition have a warm color palette reminiscent of algae blooms, sunsets, and wildfires. This heat is what drives Schweiger's paintings, inspired by Miami’s intensifying flooding, hurricanes, heat, and socio-political challenges.

In Under Warm Water, Schweiger portrays the people in her inner circle – including friends, family, her partner, and herself – distorted by the imagined rising waters of a future Miami. The portrayed subjects are often depicted in relaxed poses despite being engulfed in swirling red and green waters. The colors and warped bodies in these paintings serve as an alarm for the plight of global warming and the embodied climate anxiety that comes with it.

Growing up in Miami Beach, Schweiger has witnessed firsthand the effects of sea level rise. In Under Warm Water, she invites viewers to consider the impending doom that threatens her community’s environment. These portraits offer a glimpse into the leisurely experiences that can still be found in the midst of a watershed moment, and serve as a reminder of the trepidation that lurks beneath the surface.