By Robbie Nevel

On a large screen on the outside of the Intercontinental Hotel, DWNTWN Art Days was advertised for all passerby to see, attracting observers inside. The lobby looked almost futuristic. Glowing square shaped fixtures slowly changed from one eye catching color to the next, lingering on each one for a few minutes before starting to shift.

On screens attached to the fixtures, videos from the Wet Heat Project played, showing artists (many of them Miami locals) hard at work at their respective mediums.

Started in 2007, the Wet Heat Project makes films and produces exhibitions that show artists working in their element. Bill Bilowit who does the filming, and Grela Orihuela who produces the project’s work, came together to “recognize and personify artists, art professionals, and viewer experiences shaping the contemporary art world.”

The atmosphere of the lobby was completely modern. A large sculpture stood in the middle of the room and a fine hotel restaurant and a cafe flanked the main floor where the fixtures stood.

Their glowing strangeness was the perfect backdrop to showcase short forays into various artists’ work. One fellow toiled, shirtless and sweaty, cutting colorfully layered strips out of large thick slabs of paints that had been painted one over the other. Another short expose featured local Miami artist, Gavin Perry, (also of the notoriously loud Miami band Holly Hunt) as he created his textured and methodically constructed art pieces.

Each screen showed someone different and although the sound was barely audible, the visual stimulation was enough to captivate one to sit through an entire artist feature. This was a perfect way to get acquainted with everything the Wet Heat Project does for working artists, and judging from how they have been featured in publications such as the Miami Herald, the New Times, and Cultist, they don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Watch WetHeat.tv featured YouTube videos below & subscribe to their Channel to stay in the loop!