Peter Doig

Peter Doig, a Scottish artist, emerged as a leader of his generation, offering a fresh perspective on art. Renowned for his exotic atmospheres and dreamlike narratives, Doig's work is characterized by a rich color palette and distinctive material approach. His creations stand as some of contemporary painting's most resonant and evocative images, solidifying his place among today's most innovative painters.

Biography of Peter Doig

Peter Doig was born on 17 April 1959 in Edinburgh. In 1962, his family relocated to Trinidad, followed by a move to Canada four years later. At the age of 17, he left school to work on oil rigs in the prairies, an experience that spurred his serious interest in drawing.

Seeking art education, Doig chose London, the city of his beloved punk bands, and made the move in 1979. He began with a foundation course at Wimbledon School of Art and later studied at St Martin’s School of Art, where he reacted against the prevailing lyrical abstraction. Doig earned his MA from the Chelsea School of Art in 1990. During the mid-1980s, he lived in Montreal and maintained a studio in London, while also working part-time as a dresser at the English National Opera in 1989. 

Doig's acclaim as an artist grew significantly in the mid-1990s, gaining both national and international recognition. In 2000, he returned to Trinidad for an artist's residency and made the decision to permanently settle on the island in 2002, establishing a studio at the Caribbean Contemporary Arts Center near Port of Spain. Additionally, Doig became a professor at the Fine Arts Academy in Düsseldorf, Germany. Collaborating with Trinidadian artist Che Lovelace, he initiated StudioFilmClub in 2003, where, apart from curating and screening films, Doig designed posters to promote each week's selection.

Peter Doig has held numerous significant solo exhibitions throughout his career. Notable exhibitions include showcases at Tate Britain (2008), Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Dallas Museum of Art (2005), Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich (2004), Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht (2003), and the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London (1998).

Peter Doig has received several notable awards and honors throughout his career. He was awarded the Whitechapel Artist Prize in 1991. In 1993, he achieved first prize at the John Moores exhibition with his painting "Blotter." The following year, in 1994, Doig was nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize. 

From 1995 to 2000, Doig served as a trustee of the Tate Gallery, further demonstrating his involvement and contribution to the art world. In 2009, he was honored with amfAR's Award of Excellence for Artistic Contributions to the Fight Against AIDS, highlighting his engagement with social causes.

Peter Doig's Art Style

Peter Doig presents himself with a quiet demeanor that combines shyness with authority, expressing a flurry of words and ideas that convey a deep inner confidence in the value of his work. His interests seem evenly split between figure and landscape, with some landscapes leaning toward abstraction while others are reminiscent of the snowy scenes from his childhood in Canada. Much of his inspiration, however, comes from cinematic or photographic sources. This unique ability to infuse his emotions and intuition into his art leads him to unexpected places. The outcome is artworks brimming with painterly vigor and profound depth.

During a period dominated by new techniques and a view of painters as outdated, Peter Doig developed a new painterly language: blending Romanticism and post-impressionism to craft haunting landscape scenes. He emerged as a steadfast advocate of traditional painterly values – color, texture, and space. Yet, he imbues these values with a contemporary unease, as seen in his enigmatic depictions of abandoned houses, frozen forests, and solitary figures in canoes.