Doors of Perception: Dali Schonfelder

Doors of Perception, a compelling new exhibition by emerging artist Dali Schonfelder offers a space for reflection, exploring how experiences of place, memory, and time alter our understanding of the world and of ourselves.

Through a series of paintings centred on architectural landscapes, Dali captures the emotional imprint of the spaces we inhabit. Buildings are rendered not simply as structures, but as repositories of memory — sites marked by moments of intimacy, encounter, and transformation. These environments hold the traces of personal histories, both visible and unseen.

Iconic and intimate spaces alike appear throughout the work, including recognisable landmarks such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Opera House. Within these compositions, doors assume a symbolic role as thresholds, marking moments of transition and the passage from one state of being to another.

Displayed alongside these architectural works are paintings incorporating musical notation. Music, like place, has the capacity to evoke and reframe experience, anchoring us in specific moments while reshaping how they are felt and understood. Through this interplay of architectural and musical language, Schonfelder establishes a dialogue between space and sound.

Each work functions both as a reflection and an invitation: a reflection of the artist’s engagement with transformation, and an invitation for viewers to consider their own experiences of change. Schonfelder’s paintings operate as portals, opening into spaces of memory, perception, and transition.

'I'm interested in those moments where life doesn't look dramatically different on the outside but internally, everything has shifted. A conversation, a connection, a move, suddenly you’re seeing the same world through completely different eyes.' – Dali Schonfelder.