Curator interview: The Courtauld Gallery's Dr Barnaby Wright on the work of Peter Doig
We sat down with curator Dr Barnaby Wright to discuss the Courtauld's first exhibition of a living artist since its reopening in 2021...
February 20, 2023
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Reputedly, when Peter Doig was studying fine art at Central Saint Martin’s, his teacher held up one of his paintings in front of the class and said it was the worst painting he had ever seen. Doig’s interest in pursuing painting in the late 80s at a time when the medium was falling out of popularity in favour of the spectacle and performative work of The Young British Artists, left him largely overlooked. It wasn’t until the 90s with a solo show at the Whitechapel Gallery that he began to gain recognition. Subsequently, his commercial success has transformed him from “a hero to other painters to a poster child of the excesses of the market” in the words of Paul Schimmel (chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), achieving auction sales reaching $39,000,000. His painting Alpinist, seemingly inspired a recent outfit worn by Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammys, was flown from Trinidad to Zermatt one of Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts where the Matterhorn was added to the background, before being finished in London shortly before the exhibition opened.
We caught up with Curator Dr Barnaby Wright to ask a few questions about putting together the first exhibition of a living artist since the Courtauld Gallery reopened in 2021.
What are the challenges of curating a show based predominantly on new work?
The most obvious is not knowing exactly how the new paintings will turn out. Doig sometimes makes significant changes late in the day and so that was both a challenge and excitement of this exhibition. When you curate exhibitions of work that already exist you certainly feel more in control of the project but even then, it is actually only when you have the works together in the space that you start to see the effect of them being together and the show comes into its own being. So perhaps, there are also some similarities there.
You described the bridge in Canal originally being light orange and then becoming red and the mountain added to Alpinist while Doig was in Zermatt, it's a privilege to visit the studio having this insight into how the paintings develop, but I'm wondering if as a curator you also have any curatorial influence in the direction paintings take?
It is rare for Doig to let anyone other than close friends and family into his studio to see paintings develop, so for me to be allowed to visit him as he was making the work was a huge privilege. I certainly had no direct influence into how the paintings developed or the directions he took them in, however, I think - hope - the conversations we had were stimulating and encouraging for him. We talked about the connections between his work and works in the Courtauld's collection, which was a special aspect of this exhibition and I think some of those earlier paintings being in his mind fed into the paintings he made for the show.
The exhibition being located directly next to the Courtauld's Twentieth Century rooms links Doig’s work with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The inclusion of the etchings by Doig of Pissarro is also a really nice nod to this (I didn't know he was born in the Caribbean). I'm wondering if linking a living artist’s work to paintings within the collection is something the Courtauld aims to continue with its future exhibitions?
For us, it is important that the contemporary art we show in exhibitions at the Courtauld has a resonance with the earlier works in the collection. This does not, of course, necessarily mean direct connections or references but rather that the work we show might inspire dialogues and connections across the whole gallery. It also reminds us that all art was contemporary once and the very best art always feels fresh and invigorating.
Did you approach Doig with this connection in mind or was it something that developed after or during planning for the exhibition?
Doig spoke of his love of the Courtauld collection at our very first conversation and we of course knew that Impressionism and Post-Impressionism is part of the life blood of his art. However, the full range of connections with our collection are actually only just emerging as we have Doig's work now installed - these are the types of connections that emerge over time rather than being on the surface.
Tate Britain recently included a playlist of songs Lynette Yiadom-Boakye listens to while working in her recent solo show, you mentioned Doig also listens to music while painting and DJs, what kind of music does he listen to?
He has a wide range of musical loves from country music to calypso and music is always playing in his studio when he works. It is vital to him. I think music allows him to get into the right mood for painting and to make paintings that have a rich flow of colours, themes and subjects.
Was he ever painting to Calypso when you visited? Since it is obviously a theme in the painting of Mighty Shadow and House of Music (Soca Boat) named after one of Shadow's songs 'Dat Soca Boat'.
Doig didn't paint whilst I was in his studio - that is very much a private activity for him, free from the distraction of a curator in the background! However, he certainly played me Calypso and Soca music in the studio and that music is absolutely at the heart of those paintings. I hear it in my head when I am looking at those pictures now!
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig is showing now at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, until 29th May.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
