Jewish Art Salon’s founding director Yona Verwer explores ocean pollution and Jewish environmental stewardship in her latest painting series. Eight works from the series will be featured in her solo exhibition Fluid Futures – Living Waters, at the Interchurch Center in NYC, made possible by a grant from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.
The exhibition is presented in conjunction with NOAH: A Future Hope, which reimagines the biblical flood story through a contemporary ecological lens. Verwer also has eight paintings on view in that exhibition.
July 9th, 2026
5:30 – 7:30 pm Opening program and reception.
6:00 pm Short program with artists and curator.
The Interchurch Center | 61 Claremont Ave., (West 119 St. 1 block west of Broadway) New York, NY 10115
About the exhibit:
Verwer’s paintings explore the impact of plastic pollution on the oceans, reflecting on a crisis that threatens not only the environment but the balance of creation itself. The ocean, once a symbol of life, and sustenance, is now suffocated by human-made waste, drowning under the weight of discarded plastics. Through painting, Verwer seeks to illuminate this urgent issue, drawing on the wisdom of Jewish teachings to frame the crisis within a larger ethical and spiritual context.
The Torah teaches that we are shomrei adamah, guardians of the Earth (Genesis 2:15), and the damage caused by plastic is not just an ecological crisis, but a spiritual one, as it disrupts the harmony of life. This disruption is reflected in the suffocating presence of plastics that invade the sea and threaten to drown the life that depends on it.
Jewish texts also emphasize the concept of bal tashchit, the prohibition against needless destruction. The Talmud states, “Do not destroy fruit trees even in times of war” (Sifrei Deuteronomy 45), teaching us that destruction for no purpose, whether of life or resources, is forbidden. Our never-ending production and disposal of plastic waste, which poisons the oceans and harms countless marine species, is a violation of this sacred principle.
Fluid Future is a body of work built on hope. Drawing from the Jewish tradition that affirms the significance of even small acts of repair, it reminds us that we are all stewards of creation, and that a turning point toward healing is always possible.
On view July 10 – August 26, Mon-Fri 9-5
Curated by Paul G. Chandler of CARAVAN Arts
