Spanish artist Xevi Solà will make his Monaco debut this week with a major solo exhibition exploring the swimming pool as a setting for human relationships, isolation and suspended moments in time…
Thoughts of a Bigger Splash opens at Opera Gallery Monaco on September 18 and runs until October 15, bringing together a collection of paintings created this year.
The exhibition takes inspiration from David Hockney’s famous depictions of Californian swimming pools, but Solà approaches the familiar setting from a more psychological perspective. Rather than representing wealth and leisure, his pools become stages populated by elongated figures who appear physically close yet emotionally distant.
Drawing on influences including fashion photography and cinema, Solà uses vivid colours, flattened perspectives and carefully arranged compositions. His anonymous subjects gather around pools, wait beside the sea or occupy changing rooms, often appearing disconnected from those around them.
Among the works are the diptych Coupe Du Monde, alongside Rendez-vous, Sunrise and Vestiaires.
Born in Catalonia in 1969, Solà lives and works in Girona and has exhibited across Europe, the United States and Asia. He first exhibited with Opera Gallery in Geneva in 2024 and has been represented internationally by the gallery since 2025.
The Monaco exhibition is open Monday to Saturday at Opera Gallery in the Palais de la Scala from September the 18th.
Featured image: Xevi Solà, Coupe du monde, 2026, diptych, oil on canvas, 162 x 130 cm | 63.7 x 51.2 in (each)