Diving into art: Mennello Museum's ‘Pool Party’ explores the swimming pool through the lens of various artists

Last updated on 15 Jul 2025

Art by Maritza Caneca. Photo courtesy of Mennello Museum of Art.

This summer, the Mennello Museum of American Art invites us to take a closer look at an icon of American culture that’s as seductive as it is complicated: the swimming pool.

Having opened June 6 and running through Sept. 28, Pool Party: The Pool in American Art brings together a variety of artists both legendary and emerging who are using the pool as the theme to dive deep into ideas about race, class, family, leisure and the essence of the American dream.

“Through these artworks, dating back to the 1970s, we invite visitors to engage with the positive aspects of pool culture — simple joy, family gatherings, a sense of escape,” Shannon Fitzgerald, Mennello Museum executive director and curator of the exhibition, said in a press release. “But equally important, we’ve created space to reflect on the deeper American narrative around race, access, labor, and our environment.”

Legendary figures like David Hockney and Alex Katz captured the shimmering beauty of mid-century pools, while Slim Aarons immortalized the tanned elites lounging poolside in his impossibly glamorous photographs.

Ed Ruscha turned his lens to modest motel pools, questioning the artificiality lurking beneath the sunlit ideal, and Joel Meyerowitz’s moody “Blue Hour” images remind us of the pool’s fleeting magic at dusk.

But Pool Party doesn’t just look at the past. Contemporary voices are just as immersed in the conversation, complicating and reclaiming the pool’s story.

Derrick Adams paints Black joy in the water, an act of resistance against the painful history of segregation at public pools.

Jay Lynn Gomez, in her own bold visual language, honors the often-overlooked labor — frequently by Latino migrants — that maintains these pristine retreats.

And artists like Isca Greenfield-Sanders and Maritza Caneca transform anonymous vintage snapshots and empty pools into meditations on memory, nostalgia, and what remains unseen beneath the surface.

Pool Party is curated from private collections and renowned institutions across Central Florida and the nation including the Rollins Museum of Art, Lowe Art Museum, Tampa Museum of Art, and more, making this an exhibition that’s both regionally grounded and nationally resonant.

“The artists in this show reveal the pool as far more than a backyard luxury,” Katherine Page, Mennello Museum curator of art and education, said in a press release. “They see it as a symbol that reflects beauty, celebrity, memory, and also society’s inequities and forgotten histories. It’s an image of the American dream that’s constantly being reimagined.”

Whether you see the pool as a slice of paradise, a site of nostalgia, or a mirror of American contradictions, Pool Party promises an immersive dive into art, history, and the stories we tell ourselves when we gather at the water’s edge.

Visit mennellomuseum.org for more information including visiting details.

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Pool Party features works by the following artists: Slim Aarons, Derrick Adams, Amy Bennett, Maritza Caneca, Bruce Davidson, Jay Lynn Gomez, David Hockney, Ridley Howard, Isca Greenfield-Sanders, Alex Katz, Joel Meyerowitz, Ed Ruscha, Anastasia Samoylova, Peter Schreyer, Ericka Sobrack, Andy Sweet, Andy Warhol

Upcoming Mennello Museum events

• The Curatorial Lens: Conversations in the Gallery with Shannon Fitzgerald and Keidra Navaroli | July 18 | 11 – 11:30 a.m.

• Studio Art Workshop Oil painting with Andrew Grant | July 26 | 1 – 4 p.m.• Pools with Pups in the Park | Aug. 3 | 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

• Free Family Funday presented by VyStar Credit Union and Orlando Health: Clay Swimmer Magnets with Kristin Rucker, 2025 Indie-Folkfest Artist | Aug. 10 | Noon – 4:30 p.m.

• Music and Story Time with Mark DeMaio, Caravan Learning reading “Jabari Jumps” Written and Illustrated by Gaia Cornwall Aug. 13 | 11 – 11:30 a.m.

• The Curatorial Lens: Conversations in the Gallery with Katherine Page | Aug. 15 | 11 – 11:30 a.m.

• Studio Art Workshop Photography with John Baker | Aug. 16 | 1 – 3 p.m.

• Music and Story Time with Mark DeMaio, Caravan Learning reading “Pool Party: A Picture Book” Written by Amy Duchêne and Elisa Parhad, Illustrated by Anne Bentley | Sept. 12 | 11 – 11:30 a.m.

• Free Family Funday presented by VyStar Credit Union and Orlando Health: Pool Tile Patterns with Luca Molnar, Art Pollination 2025 Bloomberg Philanthropies Artist | Sept. 14 |Noon – 4:30 p.m.