FREE SWIM

Pool Studies, 2025

In FREE SWIM, Robert Roth turns his attention to pools—small, familiar bodies of water set within everyday environments. The work explores the quiet tension between structure and fluidity: concrete and paint holding space for something weightless, reflective, and free. Roth is drawn to the emotional pull of water—how even a modest pool can create an instant sense of calm, escape, and possibility. These man-made oases—formed from stone, cement, and layers of color—carry echoes of beach culture, backyard summers, town parks, and the faded romance of road-side motels. They trigger a kind of shared memory: a flash of joy, warmth, and the feeling of being briefly on holiday. Humble in scale but rich in atmosphere, the pools transform ordinary places into blue sanctuaries—moments of pop-cultural happiness set against otherwise overlooked landscapes. Roth’s collages use geometric forms, shifting color palettes, and varied textures to suggest light, movement, and time. Painted papers, loose brushwork, and sanded surfaces are cut and reassembled, mirroring the motion of water and the slow wear of sun and weather on architecture. Found materials are layered throughout, building a quiet complexity that rewards close looking. Working with an abstracted, cubist sensibility, Roth flattens the picture plane, creating spaces that hover between observation and dream—places that feel remembered as much as seen. While the work nods to the spirited pool imagery of David Hockney and the collage traditions of Romare Bearden and Robert Rauschenberg, FREE SWIM remains deeply personal. These pools are less about spectacle and more about presence—small sanctuaries where structure loosens, time slows, and the mind drifts.