For those who believe art should be a multi-sensory journey, where colors resonate and canvases sing, Peter Doig’s ‘House of Music’ exhibition promises an immersive, auditory, and visual feast.
Running until February 8th at London’s Serpentine Galleries, this groundbreaking exhibition delves into the profound role music plays in the work of Scottish-born painter Peter Doig. Known for dividing his time between Trinidad, Canada, and Britain, Doig always paints to music (with country currently topping his playlist). For the first time, this show integrates a continuous soundtrack from his personal 300-album vinyl collection. Adding to the experience, special guests will perform their own curated sets of inspiring tracks every Sunday.
The interplay between music and visual arts boasts a rich history, marked by iconic 20th-century collaborations. Visionary Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, whose vibrant abstractions echoed musical compositions, urged audiences in 1911 to ‘Lend your ears to music, open your eyes to painting, and … stop thinking!’
Postwar New York’s jazz scene sparked Piet Mondrian’s energetic masterpiece, ‘Broadway Boogie-Woogie’ (1942-43). Similarly, Jackson Pollock famously painted his dynamic splatters to the sounds of Duke Ellington, a sentiment echoed by Faith Ringgold, who stated in 2006: ‘Music is a life force. I try to interpret the music in my work. You can’t see the music, but you can feel it.’
This immersive four-room exhibition, aptly named after a lyric from Trinidadian calypsonian Mighty Shadow’s 2011 song ‘Dat Soca Boat,’ presents Doig’s luminous canvases that likewise evoke this profound sensory connection.
The exhibition features Doig’s 2019 painting ‘Shadow,’ depicting the musician himself gazing seaward, a lighthouse and boat faintly visible. Adorned in his signature skeleton costume, he holds a yellow guitar that glows with the vibrant energy of music, subtly referencing Pablo Picasso’s ‘Three Musicians.’
Doig has curated 22 pieces from 2002-2025, each reflecting music’s influence in distinct ways. These include visually striking stacks of speakers that echo abstract art, ethereal depictions of girls roller-skating, and intimate portraits of musical figures like Mighty Shadow and Trinidadian artist Emheyo Bahabba, his studio mate for 14 years.
An example is Peter Doig’s painting “Maracas” (2002-2008), one of the 22 works where the connection to music is subtly woven into the canvas.
Beyond the canvases, sound becomes a tangible sculpture. Vintage 1950s Klangfilm Euronor speakers, originally hidden behind cinema screens, are now prominently displayed across two areas. Here, lounge chairs invite visitors to relax and absorb the very tunes Doig listens to while creating. These ‘monstrous ears’ serve as a powerful reminder that both listening and looking are reciprocal acts: the more you engage, the richer the experience.
Perhaps the most ‘phantastic’ — in the truest sense of marvelous and evocative — installation is in the central room. Here, an enormous Western Electric/Bell Labs speaker from the 1920s and ’30s, an early ‘loud speaking telephone’ in cinema technology, hangs like a giant ear canal from a scaffold. This space will host visiting artists and musicians, including Cat Power, Lizzi Bougatsos, Ed Ruscha, Brian Eno, and Arthur Jafa, who will share the sonic inspirations behind their own work.
This colossal early-20th-century speaker at the heart of the exhibition envelops the room in a rich, warm sound, creating an unforgettable auditory experience.
Visitors might also spot Laurence Passera, the sound-system expert who rescued this extraordinary speaker from a Welsh cinema. He meticulously oversees its amp, ensuring it emits sounds far richer and warmer than typical digital audio. Remarkably, Passera believes this very speaker may have introduced a young Tom Jones to Elvis Presley’s music.
Among Doig’s pieces, the richly colored canvas ‘Music of the Future’ (2002-2007) perfectly captures the unexpected possibilities born from combining sound and image. This work emerged from a Trinidadian evening when Doig, captivated by a steel band practicing for Carnival, experienced their music as a powerful, almost visible force in the dim light.
Within this mesmerizing green-and-blue painting, subtle figures emerge along a luminous shore. The ambient music within the gallery invites viewers to immerse themselves, extending their engagement with the artwork.
Each visit to ‘The House of Music’ promises a unique sonic landscape. You might hear Aretha Franklin’s ‘Spirit in the Dark,’ Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Penduli Pendulum,’ Mighty Shadow’s ‘Little Boy Blue,’ or perhaps a new discovery entirely.
Regardless of the soundtrack, this exhibition is designed to profoundly shift your perception of art. Here, you don’t just see the music; you feel it, and perhaps, you can finally see it too.
Peter Doig: House of Music
The exhibition runs through February 8th at the Serpentine Gallery in London.