I’m inspecting a Bird of Paradise for any trace of its water source: a bottle of blue Windex. Monsieur Zohore’s studio is full of question marks and juxtapositions. While the flower wilts in a cleaning solution, the Ivorian-American artist describes the work titled Primitivism (2015-) as a self portrait, opening a discussion about migration, consumption, and dark humor. 

Zohore excavates our personal and historical relationship to the quotidian in his performance, installation, painting, sculpture, and video. Images from the internet and pop culture are printed on Bounty paper towels and collaged onto canvas. Miami is the subject of Zohore's work during his residency. Like the city’s history, racism, and celebrity, Battleground (1910-2025) is still a work in progress. Muhammad Ali is dominating a wrestling match about Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. E.W.F. Stirrup and George Merrick are on either side of the battleground on this canvas. Some images are crisp while others are obliterated. The artist plays with levels of absorption as he layers and layers countless paper towels until they harden and form into a new material. Together, the images and medium take on multiple meanings depending on its storyteller. 

Zohore will make you laugh and cry at the same time. For Heat Index (1512-2025), Miami Heat logos are printed on paper towels and then cut, pinned, and collaged with orchids and forecast heat index markers. Miami Heat player Tyler Herro wears a jersey emblazoned with “white hot playoffs.” You don’t need to follow sports to feel the extreme heat overwhelming Miami, and the comedy in celebrating with a flaming ball logo designed by two fans who won the public contest in 1988. Zohore is Assistant Professor of Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University, and his works contain curriculum and critique. Can you feel the heat?