Heat. Wind. Waves. Sun on your face. Kitsch knickknack’s in a storefront window. Lush gardens of fantasy defrauded to be constructed of plastic and metal.

In this work, New York–based artist Matthew Herrmann surrealizes and abstracts his experiences of times, places, and people in beach environments.

Dominated by a palpable sense of discontentment, tourist beaches are often plasticized models of realness, guised as tropical utopias. Individuals go in search of finding relaxation, adventure and a break from their daily realities, and are willing to buy into the lottery of hope while exchanging natural beauty for the counterfeit.

Swim on!