Time Goes By (section)

Picture a perfect summer day that never ends. That is the feeling Hiroshi Nagai captures in this serene poolside scene, where a still blue pool reflects fluffy clouds, two tall palm trees lean lazily against a clear sky, and the ocean stretches out beyond the hedges. A small table with an umbrella sits empty, as if someone just stepped away, leaving us alone with the calm. Everything here is clean, bright, and quiet.

Nagai is a Japanese artist who became famous in the 1970s and 80s for these idealized images of sunny resorts, swimming pools, and coastal towns. His work is closely tied to a Japanese music genre called "city pop," and his paintings often appeared on album covers from that era. What is interesting is that Nagai grew up far from any beach, and his sun-soaked scenes were inspired more by his dreams of California and tropical getaways than by real places. That longing for an endless vacation is exactly what gives his art its charm.

The flat colors, sharp edges, and almost too-perfect stillness give these works a nostalgic, dreamlike quality. Today his paintings have found a whole new audience online, where people love them for that warm, retro feeling of a holiday that lives only in memory.