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Peter Doig: House of Music
Peter Doig: House of Music
Join legendary painter Peter Doig and Serpentine Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist for an exclusive tour of House of Music. In this HENI Talk, Doig takes us home—to the hills of Trinidad and the "cloud forests" that inspire his intimate new works.
From the hand-painted reggae signs of Port of Spain to the haunting influence of Caravaggio, Doig reveals the stories behind his most iconic motifs—the lions, the prisons, and the "leakage" of sound through city walls.
In this deep-dive walkthrough with Peter Doig explores: • The Lion of Judah: Its origins in Trinidadian street art and its role as a symbol of resistance. • Architecture of Control: How the Port of Spain zoo enclosure mirrors the city's prison. • Studio Film Club: The legacy of his makeshift Trinidadian cinema and how it transformed his view of the gallery. • The Poet & The Painter: The influence of Nobel laureate Derek Walcott and the "scrawny Salvation Army Band." • The Final Hour: The frantic "last-minute" process of finishing a painting just days before an opening.
On the occasion of his exhibition, Doig has created a series of special, limited-edition prints after paintings from the show. The prints will be available by application exclusively on HENI Editions from 29 January. Submit your details via the link to be notified when the artworks are available: https://heni.com/forms/house-of-music-register-interest
Time Period:
21st century
A leading figure in the revival of figurative painting, Peter Doig (born 1959) has given the 21st century some of its newest icons. His solitary figures, ethereal landscapes, night scenes and otherworldly lights, reflect century-old modernist questions, while suggesting a new visual language suited for the uniqueness of the contemporary experience.
Like his nineteenth and early twentieth century predecessors, Peter Doig draws his inspiration from his everyday life. His subjects come from his immediate world : the view from his studio window, a passerby, scenes from his commute into Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago), his wife, and children. Doig reconstructs these places and moments from memory and snapshots that he has taken with his mobile phone.
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10:56
Peter Doig at the Musée d'Orsay
Peter Doig and the Musée d’Orsay have brought together, in one of the museum’s iconic domed rooms, a group of large paintings that were made over the two decades the artist lived in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and a selection of works he has chosen from the Musée d’Orsay’s collection.
17:51
Keith Cunningham: The Lost Master
In this HENI Talks film, Damien Hirst, Peter Doig, Sir Frank Bowling, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Sir John Hegarty, amongst others, celebrate Keith Cunningham (1929–2014), a painter of astonishing skill, widely admired by peers and mentors alike, and uncover the artist's "Lost Masterpieces". Cunningham was a revered contemporary of Francis Bacon and Frank Bowling, a group that would go on to define post-war British art, and trained at the Royal College of Art in the 1950s alongside Leon Kossoff and Joe Tilson. Unlike his contemporaries, however, Cunningham walked away from the spotlight. By the late 1960s, he had turned his back on the public art world entirely, and for more than four decades his talent was known only to a circle of insiders — but unseen and undistracted Cunningham quietly created some of the most powerful and uncompromising works of post-war British art enjoyed by some of the most influential artists and critics of today.
25:39
Go Crystal Tears: The Art of Melancholy
A survey into why and how artists have portrayed the melancholic throughout art history, with accompanying lute music.
10:56
Peter Doig at the Musée d'Orsay
Peter Doig and the Musée d’Orsay have brought together, in one of the museum’s iconic domed rooms, a group of large paintings that were made over the two decades the artist lived in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and a selection of works he has chosen from the Musée d’Orsay’s collection.
17:51
Keith Cunningham: The Lost Master
In this HENI Talks film, Damien Hirst, Peter Doig, Sir Frank Bowling, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Sir John Hegarty, amongst others, celebrate Keith Cunningham (1929–2014), a painter of astonishing skill, widely admired by peers and mentors alike, and uncover the artist's "Lost Masterpieces". Cunningham was a revered contemporary of Francis Bacon and Frank Bowling, a group that would go on to define post-war British art, and trained at the Royal College of Art in the 1950s alongside Leon Kossoff and Joe Tilson. Unlike his contemporaries, however, Cunningham walked away from the spotlight. By the late 1960s, he had turned his back on the public art world entirely, and for more than four decades his talent was known only to a circle of insiders — but unseen and undistracted Cunningham quietly created some of the most powerful and uncompromising works of post-war British art enjoyed by some of the most influential artists and critics of today.
25:39
Go Crystal Tears: The Art of Melancholy
A survey into why and how artists have portrayed the melancholic throughout art history, with accompanying lute music.
13:53
Richard Westmacott’s Pediment Sculptures for the British Museum
British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer reflects on the story and inspiration behind Sir Richard Westmacott’s pediment sculptures.
1:05:29
The Romance of Bricks
An intimate 65-minute portrait of the artist Liz Finch by filmmaker Nichola Bruce.
1:22:59
Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable
Damien Hirst’s ‘Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable’ reveals the fascinating story of the discovery and excavation of an ancient shipwreck.