MBAL Exhibition Explores Swimming Pool as Artistic Motif from David Hockney to Bill Viola
A new exhibition at MBAL highlights the swimming pool as a prominent theme in contemporary art. Featuring artists like David Hockney and Bill Viola, the show explores the pool's symbolism of both wealth and disaster, happiness and isolation. It portrays the pool as a metaphor for the quest for peace and order amid rising uncertainty. Serving as an architectural and sculptural entity, a geometric area, and a platform for physical experiences, the pool reflects humanity's control over nature and a shared dream associated with modernity, wellness, and closeness. The exhibition also considers the pool as a political space, akin to a museum or gallery, showcasing its complex and dual significance in art history.
Key facts
- The exhibition is held at MBAL.
- It explores the swimming pool as a significant motif in contemporary art.
- Artists featured include David Hockney and Bill Viola.
- The pool is presented as a symbol of both prosperity and catastrophe, joy and solitude.
- It serves as a metaphor for the search for order and serenity in an uncertain future.
- The pool is described as an architectural and sculptural object, a geometric space, and a stage for bodily experiences.
- It embodies the control of nature and a form of collective dreaming tied to modernity, well-being, and intimacy.
- The swimming pool is considered a political instrument or environment, similar to a museum or art gallery.
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- MBAL