Maritza Caneca installs pool at Copacabana Palace

Curated by Vanda Klabin, in partnership with the hotel, Maritza Caneca was invited to develop an installation in the pool of the Belmond Copacabana Palace. To do this, she visited the hotel several times in search of all the details of the pool's geometry. In the sessions, held during the day and at night, she captured the angles and transformed everything into a large mosaic with more than 78 photos, all measuring 60 x 60 cm, which were printed on tiles and placed on a panel in front of the Cipriani restaurant.

She also recorded a video of the pool while it was still in operation. To preserve the magical atmosphere of the Copa, images and the sound of water will be projected onto the floor that leads to the restaurant and the hotel annex. "Maritza Caneca poetically works on the memory of the pool through a mosaic of images taken by her lens at different moments," reveals curator Vanda Klabin.

The artist, who dedicates herself to photographing swimming pools all over the world, has been to Israel, the United States, Switzerland, Cuba and even photographed the oldest reflecting pool in Lisbon. Last year, she presented her work in a solo exhibition at the Paço Imperial and in 2017, she took her swimming pools to an exhibition in Miami and to an international fair in New York. Maritza Caneca's work will also be seen by those who pass through the neighborhood. Eight display windows facing Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana will feature photographs by the artist with details of the pool.

Opened in 1935, the Copa pool quickly became part of the city's landscape. The site of famous dives, such as those by Janis Joplin and Lady Di, and the setting for unforgettable parties, the reflecting pool will undergo yet another modernization and, among the new features, will gain an infinity edge. For 45 days, the area around the pool will be under construction, but it will not be empty.

The artist is represented by the Anita Schwartz gallery, in Brazil, and by the Bossa Gallery, in Miami.