In her solo show “Who By Fire” at Mindy Solomon Gallery in Miami, Zoë Buckman confronts the intersections of Jewish identity, home, and womanhood with fearless intimacy. Through large-scale embroidered and painted portraits of family and friends, she captures moments of joy and vulnerability against a backdrop of rising antisemitism. The result is both personal and political—an ode to endurance, community, and the quiet power of belonging.
Zoë Buckman, Detail of “trace your ridges,” courtesy of the artist.
WHITEWALL: What was the starting point for this body of work?
ZOË BUCKMAN: In the summer of 2023, I knew I wanted my next series to focus specifically on the Jewish female experience within in the home, and made my first large-scale self-portrait. It was a painted and embroidered depiction of me on my bed in my studio with a cup of tea. I took off all my other necklaces and left on just my Star of David, which ended up being a small embroidered gold star on the work, hardly noticeable on the piece as a whole.
The portrait ended up being deemed “controversial” and complicated by the autumn of 2023 because of my Jewishness. My matrilineal Jewish heritage was something I was leaning further into and learning more about. I was interested in exploring our complex relationship to the concept of the home, belonging, community, and how vulnerable those pillars have been for us both historically and presently.
This experience only served to strengthen my will to focus my lens on Jewish personhood in my work. I then spent the next year and a half making the pieces I am presenting in this solo show.
“I was interested in exploring our complex relationship to the concept of the home,”
-Zoë Buckman
WW: Tell me about the title of the show. How does it resonate with you and with the work on view?
ZB: “Who By Fire” is the title of a Leonard Cohen song, which is itself an adaptation of a Yom Kippur prayer. In it, God is listing out who will die and how. I grew up in a neighborhood called Stoke Newington in Hackney, East London. In 2023, following the largest massacre of Jewish people since the holocaust, in which many were burned to death, someone set fire to the home of a Jewish family in my neighborhood while they were sleeping. The same thing has happened to homes and places of worship all over the diaspora over the last two years. There is this thing with antisemites and fire… and it is centuries old.
Our house being set ablaze was something I always feared growing up and had recurring nightmares about as a child. I’d make my Mum tell me over and over again what she would do if our house were on fire and how she’d get us all out safely. Her plan would comfort me, and I’d eventually fall back to sleep.
Though the title of this show draws from this specific fear, and reality for many, the pieces themselves are captured moments of joy, introspection, resilience, and love.
Zoë Buckman, “before they became an outline,” courtesy of the artist.
WW: This is not the first time we’ve seen you capture those close to you. Who in your community did you want to focus on for this series?
ZB: These are portraits of my Jewish community: my family, friends & loved ones. They are my interpretations of every-day moments I’ve captured (usually on my film camera). This series is also the first time I’ve depicted cis-gender males in my work. I started with a portrait of my nephew, Otis Buckman, getting his hair cut in the kitchen. Then I painted my friend Jayden Davidson on the sofa in my living room with our bestie Katie lovingly sprawled out on top of him— that piece will be included in this show.
It’s important to note, I think, that I was making this work initially for a London solo show with the gallery that represented me for five years but it was cancelled indefinitely. The gallery wanted to wait until London is “less antisemetic” to show portraits of Jewish people in their homes. If anything, I want this work to show that we are here. I can’t and won’t wait to show my work for a time when audiences may or may not carry less bigotry.
Zoë Buckman On Her Creative Process
Zoë Buckman’s Studio, courtesy of the artist.
WW: What techniques did you explore for the first time, or anew here?
ZB: I’ve never made work this large before, and it’s also the first time I’ve used acrylic to paint with. These are painted then embroidered works. Over the years I’ve gradually been incorporating more painting. It’s been a journey of learning, some unlearning, and expanding.
WW: These works and their embroidery are so laborious in process. Tell me about your process, how you feel that impacts what you want to put forth?
ZB: I currently hate the process of embroidery! I write this having only just finished the last piece for the show and this is basically what I say every time at this stage. The two largest works took me six months to complete. But the problem is– so much of my work is actually about labor, toil… the hard work of being in these forms and these identities and the complicated mess of it all. So hand embroidery feels like an appropriate way to tell these stories and I keep returning to the medium.
“It’s been a journey of learning, some unlearning, and expanding,”
-Zoë Buckman
WW: What does it mean for you to show these works in Miami at Mindy Solomon?
ZB: This will be my first Miami solo show and my first time working with Mindy. I have always loved Miami for its unapologetic nature. There is a raw and realness here. I’ve shown work at the Lowe Museum and the Norton Museum and will be deepening my relationship with the city next year as I’ll be showing my video work, Show Me Your Bruises, Then (2021), at the Perez Museum. It will be on view for 8 months from October 2026. The Perez is one of my favorite museums and I’ve been so moved by work I’ve seen there. The video is very much an exploration of intimate violence in a relationship; of the inevitability of bleeding, bruising, and having one’s power taken away. It’s a performance of a long-lead poem I began writing in 2018 and it’s performed by Sienna Miller, Cush Jumbo, and myself.
Zoë Buckman, Detail of “smells like light,” courtesy of the artist.
WW: What else are you looking forward to seeing and doing during the week of its opening?
ZB: I’m going to check out the other Wynwood galleries and take in the work there, as they’re close by Mindy Solomon. I will definitely try to make it to The Bass, to ICA Miami who recently acquired a piece of mine, and of course to the Perez Museum who always put on ballsy shows.
WW: Tell us about your studio space. What is a typical day like for you there?
ZB: I live above my studio. So I can literally make work in my PJs or at any hour. The space is cramped though and this work has at times felt like it’s bursting out of the walls. I do try to keep some sense of normal working hours and my kid lives with me half the time, so typical days involve seeing the kiddo off to school, making coffee and heading down into the studio to blare my tunes and paint, sew, iron, write, make and mess. It’s a bit like a thrift store-come-treasure trove down there and it feels good to close the door at the end of the day and return to ground level.
What to Know
Zoë Buckman, “smells like light,” courtesy of the artist.
Don’t Miss
Zoë Buckman’s moving embroidered and painted portraits transforming domestic textiles into intimate meditations on Jewish identity, resilience, and womanhood.
Why It Matters
A fearless, timely reflection on faith, belonging, and the female experience amid rising antisemitism—bridging personal memory and collective endurance.
Dates
November 30, 2025 – January 10, 2026
Venue
Mindy Solomon Gallery, Little River, Miami
Zoë Buckman, Detail of “crows on the tracks,” courtesy of the artist.
