Front Row Seat, Mediterranean Sea (2026)

In peak summer on the French Riviera, the best beach spots are worth getting up early for. And this woman knows it. Inspired by the Mediterranean bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer on the Côte d'Azur, Front Row Seat is an original beach painting about claiming your own little piece of paradise. Just beyond Villefranche's old town and lively harbour, the beach reveals itself from above: a spectacular sweep of turquoise water against the Mediterranean coastline. Then comes the summer reality: a beach packed like sardines, and the search for that elusive patch of sand. Beneath a striped umbrella, a woman in a red swimsuit has secured the perfect spot to escape the crowds. She knows the rule: the early bird gets a front row seat. And beach rule #1? Nobody gets to block the view. Prime beachfront real estate, secured. Composed like a carefully cropped photograph, the crowds have been deliberately to create an illusion of solitude amid the summer chaos. The ambiguity is intentional. Is she alone, or are those her kids splashing in the water? Is she waiting for someone, or enjoying complete anonymity? Just a woman, a striped umbrella, a flash of red and endless shades of Mediterranean blue. The rest is left to the imagination. A contemporary coastal painting about summer on the Côte d'Azur, the luxury of personal space and the art of doing absolutely nothing. Alex Nereuta’s painting presents a bird’s-eye view of a beach scene, blending fluid brushstrokes with geometric elements. A woman in a red swimsuit reclines beneath a blue and white striped umbrella, absorbed in a book, while two swimmers wade in the clear turquoise water. The soft, sweeping strokes evoke the textures of sand and sea, conveying a serene summer mood. The composition harmonizes organic human forms with the umbrella’s structured pattern, highlighting a balance between stillness and gentle activity.