A new installation by Nicolas Party enlivens the swimming pool at Le Sirenuse, a family-run boutique hotel in the beautiful coastal town of Positano, Italy. The Swiss artist, best known for his abstract interpretations of familiar landscapes, portraits and still lifes that are both fluid and vibrant, has completely transformed the poolside terrace into an immersive and playful space where organic forms intertwine and dance underwater.

After spending a week immersing himself in the hotel’s atmosphere, Party returned to his New York studio to begin the creative process. The figurative artist envisioned an abstract motif in blue and green, reflecting the connection between clouds and water. At the pool’s deepest point, he placed a golden mosaic disc to represent the sun, inviting bathers to jump into the pool and feel ‘as if they were diving into the sky.’

Ultimately, Party hopes that his art at Le Sirenuse will be seen as both ‘metaphorical and symbolic’, allowing bathers to interpret the buoyant shapes they encounter as they swim. ‘Everything,’ he points out, ‘is interconnected. We’re just living in the middle of it: the clouds make the water that creates the waves through rain, and then the colour of the water is the colour of the sky reflected.’

Photos Courtesy of Le Sirenuse