10 Years Ago 2001, by Peter Doig. Courtesy of Private Collection via The Guardian
Painter extraordinaire Peter Doig’s current show at The Scottish National Gallery is a homecoming of sorts, it’s the first exhibition of his work in the artist’s country of birth. Having opened on August 3rd, ‘No Foreign Lands’ is receiving rave reviews and making us want to travel north.
The show may be located in Edinburgh, but the works on display connect to an altogether more tropical climate. Doig grew up and now lives and works in Trinidad. The show is a riot of tropical subject matter and intense pulsating colour. ‘No Foreign Lands’ acts as a kind of modern retrospective of his Trinidad works, with all pieces having been made in the last 10 years.
While the subject of Doig’s homeland is a little complex, we at Chelsea like to think we have our own claim on the great man – with Doig having completed his MA here. He is one of the college’s superstar artist alumni whose career keeps going from strength to strength.
Peter Doig’s Figures in Red Boat, (detail) Courtesy of Michael Werner Gallery
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to get a unique glimpse into Doig’s process and working method – slightly altered version of the same subject are presented; we see him testing out different variants of colour and composition. Another draw is the fact that many of the works come from private collections, so are unlikely to be seen together again. Start planning a northern odyssey now and head on up to Scotland before it ends on November 3rd, following this, the show will be jetting off to Montreal. Talk about international artist eh?!