Market Day, Cours Saleya - Nice (2025)

Alex Nereuta’s Market Day, Cours Saleya captures the vibrant atmosphere of a Mediterranean fruit market in the South of France, beneath blue-and-white striped awnings. Bright orange fruit and colourful produce fill the foreground, while softly rendered figures move between market stalls. Bold geometric stripes, expressive brushstrokes and a luminous palette of warm and cool tones bring together abstraction and representation, evoking the colours, energy and relaxed rhythm of life on the Côte d'Azur. Inspired by the famous open-air market at Cours Saleya in the heart of Nice, this original contemporary painting celebrates one of the French Riviera's most beloved daily rituals. You can almost feel the warmth of the morning sun as you wander past overflowing fruit stands, flower stalls and elegant boutiques, surrounded by the colours and conversations of the Côte d'Azur. Rather than capturing a single moment, the composition brings together familiar details observed across different seasons, reimagined through memory. Striped canopies, colourful produce and people moving at an unhurried pace create a lively yet intimate portrait of Mediterranean market life. Created using acrylic paint and marker on canvas, this painting combines graphic forms, layered textures and sun-filled shades of citrus yellow, ochre, turquoise blue and warm terracotta. A celebration of Nice, the French Riviera and the simple pleasure of exploring a local market, discovering beautiful things and embracing the slower pace of Mediterranean living.