Peter Doig – Maracas

Peter Doig's Maracas (2004) is a signed limited edition etching and aquatint on wove paper that reflects the artist's sustained engagement with landscape, architecture, and the solitary figure. The composition presents a small human presence positioned beside a stark, geometric structure, set against a luminous green tropical backdrop with palm trees and distant hills. The contrast between rigid architectural form and dense organic surroundings creates a subtle tension characteristic of Doig's visual language.

Executed in layered tones of green and black, the fine art print demonstrates Doig's painterly approach to printmaking, where aquatint textures and etched lines generate depth and atmosphere. As in many of Peter Doig's prints and paintings, the image resists clear narrative, instead evoking memory, displacement, and psychological space. Published in 2004 in a limited edition of 120 plus artist's proofs, Maracas is hand-signed and numbered in pencil by the artist.

Peter Doig (born in Edinburgh in 1959) is regarded as one of the most important contemporary painters of his generation. His paintings and limited edition prints are known for their ethereal atmosphere and enigmatic imagery, blending figurative motifs with abstract painting techniques. Characterized by dreamlike landscapes populated with solitary figures and architectural forms, Doig’s artworks immerse viewers in scenes of quiet intensity and emotional ambiguity. His work often evokes melancholy, stillness, and psychological depth without relying on overt narrative, allowing meaning to unfold gradually.

Doig’s artistic process draws on diverse source material, including found photographs, film stills, and personal memories, which he transforms into richly layered compositions. By filtering these references through a distinctive painterly language, Peter Doig blurs the boundaries between memory, imagination, and art history. In addition to his major canvases, Doig has produced signed limited edition prints that translate his atmospheric visual language into etchings, lithographs, and monotypes. These fine art prints retain the chromatic subtlety and spatial complexity that define his painting practice.

Shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1994 and the subject of a major retrospective at Tate Britain in 2008, Peter Doig has established a lasting presence in international contemporary art. His paintings and prints are held in leading museum collections worldwide, and his graphic works continue to play an important role within his broader artistic output.