“The white flowers have the fury of battle, they lay siege to the mountains…. angry and Alpine, their petals blur into a white gust from the Matterhorn or the streets of Zermatt.”
—Derek Walcott, The Prodigal: 12Inspired by Derek Walcott’s series of poems The Prodigal, Peter Doig’s Zermatt series portrays six diverse visual narratives from the artist’s experiences in the picturesque Swiss skiing resort. Doig painted the series of snowscapes between 2020 and 2021, shortly after his stay at architect and artist Heinz Julen’s chalet in Zermatt during the winter season. Completed from memory once he had returned from his trip, the present series draws upon a variety of influences – from the idyllic village and its longstanding religious traditions, to the dramatic alpine landscape and the falling snow reminiscent of the gust of petals described in Walcott’s poem.
[Left] Zermatt Travel Poster, 1930s. Image: Sam Kovak / Alamy Stock Photo
[Right] Zermatt Travel Poster, 1932. Image: Sam Kovak / Alamy Stock PhotoThe giclée print edition, realised in 2022, is a large-scale homage to the poster-inspired paintings. Doig drew compositional and conceptual inspiration from vintage ski posters depicting dynamic skiers surrounded by imposing, snow-covered mountains, which aimed to allure individuals to the mountains. Through expressive use of colour and references to such posters, Zermatt manifests the artist's exploration of the slippage between memory, reality, and imagination. For instance, the scattered snowflakes in Road to Zermatt stand as a metaphor for the brokenness of memories, while the light-green tint of Couloir 2 evokes yellow-tinted ski goggles. The resulting blur between representation and reinterpretation, memories both real and imagined, has come to guide Doig’s formal concerns, reinforcing the often foggy, inarticulate sensation of remembering. Emblematic of Doig’s artistic endeavours both conceptually and visually, Zermatt is a remarkable example of Peter Doig’s extensive body of work, confirming his rank as one of the most renowned figurative painters of his generation.
Literature
HENI Editions D1
Catalogue Essay
Including Couloir 1; Couloir 2; Lost; Road to Zermatt; Alpinist Night; and Holy Mountain.
Artist Biography
Peter Doig
Scottish • 1959
Peter Doig is widely considered one of the most renowned contemporary figurative painters. Born in Scotland and raised in Trinidad and Canada, Doig achieved his breakthrough in 1991 upon being awarded the prestigious Whitechapel Artist Prize and receiving a solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London.
Doig draws on personal memories and source imagery in his pursuit of exploring the slippage between reality, imagination and memory through painting. The material properties of paint and expressive possibilities of color thereby serve to approximate the foggy, inarticulate sensation of remembering. His practice maintains a thin and balanced line between landscape and figure, superimposing photographic imagery and memories, both real and imagined.
153
Zermatt (D1)
2020-21/2022
The complete set of six giclée prints in colours, on cotton smooth rag paper, the full sheets.
five S. 114 x 80 cm (44 7/8 x 31 1/2 in.)
one S. 114 x 90 cm (44 7/8 x 35 3/8 in.)
all framed, approx. 122.8 x 88.8 x 3 cm (48 3/8 x 34 7/8 x 1 1/8 in.)
All signed with initials, dated and numbered 200/250 in pencil (there were also 25 artist's proofs), co-published by HENI Editions, London and Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, all contained in the original oak frames specified by the artist.
Estimate
£15,000 - 20,000 ‡♠
Sold for £27,940
EditionsLondon@Phillips.com
+44 20 7318 4024
Rebecca Tooby-Desmond
Specialist, Head of Sale, Editions
rtooby-desmond@phillips.com
Robert Kennan
Head of Editions, Europe
rkennan@phillips.com
Anne Schneider-Wilson
Senior International Specialist, Editions
aschneider-wilson@phillips.com
Louisa Earl
Associate Specialist, Editions
learl@phillips.com
Evening & Day Editions
London Auction 21 - 22 September 2023
243
This lot is no longer available.
370
This lot is no longer available.
