A peak into the artists' cabins at the famous Molitor Swimming Pool in Paris

Inspiration

ParisCultural HeritageCities

Does - Sébastien Giraud
© Does - Sébastien Giraud

Reading time: 0 minPublished on 20 December 2023

Molitor, a former temple of the Parisian avant-garde, has transformed the changing rooms of its winter pool into a huge gallery of contemporary urban art. We go behind some of the famous blue doors that line the pool to tell you what’s there. A truly private visit.

Tore - Sébastien Giraud
© Tore - Sébastien Giraud

When it closed to the public in 1989, Molitor, with its two long swimming pools became, for nearly 20 years, a privileged playground for graffiti artists. It’s a legacy that Molitor celebrates, with an exhibition of street art on its famous walls.

Abyss

Michael Beerens - Sébastien Giraud
© Michael Beerens - Sébastien Giraud

Michael Beerens, graffiti enthusiast of the aquatic world, couldn’t have hoped for a better canvas than the walls of a swimming pool to express his art.

Cisco Morel - Sébastien Giraud
© Cisco Morel - Sébastien Giraud

Each featured artist has been given free rein to illustrate their style and their universe. The result is a wide range of colours, abstract and figurative forms, as shown here with the work of Panamanian artist Cisco Morel known for his fantastic geometric style.

Alber - Sébastien Giraud
© Alber - Sébastien Giraud

An enigmatic and colourful figure, characteristic of graffiti artist Alber, watches over the winter pool.

Blue pool

Nasty - Sébastien Giraud
© Nasty - Sébastien Giraud

In this cabin, it feels as if the artist Nasty has completed his work just minutes before we arrive: a wall of calligraphy, bright against a blue background.

Joachim Romain - Sébastien Giraud
© Joachim Romain - Sébastien Giraud

Artist Joachim Romain works with recycled materials, transforming and refining them into artworks.

Signatures

Romain Froquet - Sébastien Giraud
© Romain Froquet - Sébastien Giraud

Year after year, graffiti artists continue to mark the walls of the mythical swimming pool.

Swarm

Stom 500 - Sébastien Giraud
© Stom 500 - Sébastien Giraud

The artist Stom500 is inspired by the world of cartoons, with a penchant for animal themes like the bulbous bees that can be seen lurking behind the door of one of the cabins.

Marc Plantec
© Marc Plantec

As well as its indoor and outdoor pools, Molitor is also a 124-room hotel with a Clarins Spa, restaurant and rooftop bar plus terrace in the summer months.

By France.fr

The magazine of the destination unravels an unexpected France that revisits tradition and cultivates creativity. A France far beyond what you can imagine…