by refusing to spell out what the picture is precisely about or where it takes place
Viewers of Peter Doig's paintings usually have the vague sensation that they are not seeing a particular motif for the first time. The London-based artist, who was born in Edinburgh in 1959 and grew up in Canada, bases most of his compositions on media images, including quotations from record covers, sequences from horror movies, or citations from art history. In his paintings, which at first glance appear to be "harmless" landscapes, Doig uses alienating colors with strongly atmospheric effects and varying painting styles and methods, presenting a thoroughly unnerving picture of nature. Doig makes use of universally known images, yet irritates his viewers by refusing to spell out what the picture is precisely about or where it takes place. His eerily familiar mountain landscapes and his forest and ocean pieces with their scattered human figures seem to depict dream sequences or snapshots from stories which are bound to end badly, no matter how one imagines that they might go on. Exhibition Schedule: Bonnefanten Museum Maastricht May 11 - September 7, 2003 • Carré d'Art, Musée d'art contemporain de Nîmes October 9, 2003 - January 4, 2004
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