ORLANDO, FLA.- Mennello Museum of American Art presents the exhibition "Pool Party: The Pool in American Art," featuring artists who emerged in the mid-20th century and were fascinated by pool culture, class, and leisure, such as David Hockney and Alex Katz. It also includes work from younger contemporary artists reclaiming the narrative of the pool in relation to family, like Amy Bennett and Isca Greenfield-Sanders, as well as pieces within more social contexts by Derrick Adams, Anastasia Samoylova, and Jay Lynn Gomez.


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Since the 20th Century, the pool has served as an alluring symbol of both luxury and leisure in America. Artists of the 1950s gathered around the pool's space as a source of inspiration, captivated by the bright sunlight, the water's reflectivity, vibrant colors, modernist architecture, and the Pop Art sensibility of celebrity culture and easy living. The public pool was originally designed as a communal space for public health and later became a place for exercise. By the Mid-Twentieth Century, the private swimming pool had become a highly desired symbol of the American Dream, reflecting the post-war economic prosperity of the growing middle class and the wealthy Hollywood elite. For those unable to afford their own retreats, the public pool remained a joyful place for recreation. However, the pool was also marred by racial segregation, with Black Americans being forcibly denied entry and harmed when they attempted to participate in the same activities.


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Pool Party is an exhibition showcasing painters and photographers whose work began with the spark and excitement of that mid-century era, complemented by younger contemporary artists attracted to the same splendor and beauty, reclaiming the pool's contextual story. Arguably, the painter of the most iconic pools in art history from the Mid-Century is David Hockney, whose simplified, representational paintings depict a slice of Los Angeles, California—his personal Eden. Alex Katz's sleek swimmers capture the sensation of bright outdoor light and vibrant colors in the pools where they swim. Photographer Slim Aarons was known for capturing the wealth and spectacle of elite poolside gatherings. Conversely, Ed Ruscha explored the artificiality of budget motel pools in his initial foray into color photography. Simultaneously, Joel Meyerowitz documented the fleeting nature of the pool during the mysterious "Blue Hour."

Among the younger generation, artist Isca Greenfield-Sanders has explored anonymous and ordinary vacation photos from the 1950s and 1960s, using their nostalgia to create paintings that obscure those memories. Maritza Caneca photographs pools as sites of memory, fascinated by geometric shapes and watery distortions. Meanwhile, Anastasia Samoylova’s documentary photography highlights the fragility of Florida's changing climate. Jay Lynn Gomez uses the same visual language as her mid-century predecessors to remind us of the labor—often by Latinx migrants—behind the seemingly perfect and pristine landscapes. Derrick Adams reclaims swimming and pools from negative historical connotations by depicting Black subjects in moments of joy, elation, and ease.

Included works are on loan from prestigious private collections, artists from Los Angeles to New York to Miami, and Orlando, galleries, and outstanding museums such as Rollins Museum of Art, Lowe Art Museum, MOCA Jacksonville, Tampa Museum of Art, Vero Beach Museum of Art, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, USF Contemporary Art Museum, Graphic Studio, and The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts.

“As we celebrate the joys of summer, this exhibition offers an opportunity to explore the multiple stories that shaped the American phenomenon and the still-relevant fascination with swimming pools and their cultural significance,” said Shannon Fitzgerald, executive director of the Mennello Museum and curator of the exhibition. “Through these artworks, dating back to the 1970s, we invite visitors to engage with the positive aspects of pool culture, including simple joy, relaxation, family and community gatherings, and a site for respite, fun, and beauty. We also created a space for deeper contemplation about a distinct American narrative regarding race, access, labor, and the environment. This exhibition is timely for its cool aesthetic and formal aspects of art making, while simultaneously provocative through the artist's powerful creativity in heightening awareness and prompting thought.”

Katherine Page, Curator of Art and Education, Mennello Museum of American Art shares, "The artists included in this exhibition engage with the subject matter of the pool as a profound symbol reflecting aspects of social mores and artistic principles. From the seductive luxury of polished, private oases to the enchanting ordinariness of sensible cement pools, the paintings, photographs, and sculptures demonstrate over half a century of artistic interest in beauty, form, color, memory, celebrity, family, history, society, and labor. We are proud to bring together this dynamic grouping of artists who celebrate and redefine the depths of this quintessential image of the American dream."