Tracey Emin retrospective, London
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Tracey Emin's work may be as depraved, egotistical and confrontational as ever - there's even a used tampon thrown into one of her new pieces - but she's never been more in favour. Not only has she been swept up in the arms of the Hayward Gallery (opens in new tab) this month, which is staging a major retrospective of her work, but she's also being embraced by Louis Vuitton (opens in new tab). The luxury fashion brand is currently both showing her work in store and flaunting a limited edition hand-rolled, hand-stitched silk scarf by Emin as its latest must-have item.
Watch an interview with Tracey Emin as she prepares for her Hayward gallery show
But let's start with the Hayward Gallery. For someone who has exposed just about every aspect of her life, it's amazing we've not had enough of Emin. Yet it's hard not to be absorbed by the way the British artist pieces together and packages the fragments of her existence - as embroidered scrawl on blankets and chairs, short-but-potent films and intense neon statements, all represented in this exhibition.
The works here (over 170 in total) have an extraordinary narrative pull, with a speedy stroll around the show likely to take several hours. Sure there's some repetition: the endless self-pity and the constant cries to be loved. But there's also huge poignancy to her work, particularly pieces like 'Knowing My Enemy' (2002) - a vast sculpture of a collapsed pier, with a hut at the end. Made in response to a letter from her father (framed on the wall of the gallery), it's her vision of the safe haven he longed for but could never quite reach.
But it's her drawings that capture us most, which are given a whole room at the Hayward Gallery: those fraught, trembling lines, sometimes incarnated as monoprints or etchings, other times as stitching. Which brings us neatly back to Louis Vuitton. In its New Bond Street Maison, the fashion brand has given over its Exhibition Space and Libraire - where it commissions, exhibits and sells limited edition works and books by artists (see W*136) - to Emin's works, in particular her prints.
Hung in the Libraire are eight new etchings by Emin, bearing her inimitable scrawl. Produced in collaboration with Counter Editions (opens in new tab) and Carl Freedman Gallery (opens in new tab), these are encased in an Emin-designed leather case and the complete box set is being sold in an edition of ten. You can also pick up one of 50 hand-rolled, hand-stitched silk scarves, entitled 'Sex 21 Sydney (2011)'.
A series of appliquéd blankets (various dates) by Tracey Emin
Photograph by David Levene
'Running Naked' by Tracey Emin, 2000/11
Courtesy of the artist
A series of appliquéd blankets (various dates) and 'Knowing My Enemy' (2002), by Tracey Emin
Foreground: 'Salem' by Tracey Emin, 2005
'Love is What You Want' by Tracey Emin, 2011
Courtesy of the artist
'I've got it all' by Tracey Emin, 2000
Courtesy of the Saatchi Gallery, London
'There's Alot of Money in Chairs' by Tracey Emin, 1994
Courtesy of Jay Jopling / White Cube
'Mother, Father, Children' by Tracey Emin, 2011, shown on the sculpture terrace and created especially for the Hayward Gallery exhibition
Photograph by David Levene
Louis Vuitton, which is supporting the Hayward Gallery show, has also given over the Exhibition Space and Libraire of its New Bond Street Store to Emin's work
Both shows take their name from Emin's 2011 neon work, 'Love is What You Want'
Tracey Emin installation at Louis Vuitton New Bond Street
'Sex 21 Sydney,' by Tracey Emin, 2011. Sold as a limited edition hand-rolled, hand-stitched silk scarf. Each scarf comes with a tag, signed and numbered by the artist
Eight soft-ground etchings in the Librairie, produced in a limited edition of 100
The eight etchings are sold in a bespoke Emin-designed leather box (in an edition of 10)
Also in the Libraire are two artist's books: the autobiographical Exploration of the Soul and Details of Depression, both limited editions, signed and numbered by the artist
'Tracey x Tracey' by Tracey Emin, 2006, screen printed on calico and produced in an edition of 200
'Insane Reflection' by Tracey Emin, 2006, screen printed, hand-stitched on cotton, and produced in an edition of 200
'Hades, Hades, Hades' by Tracey, 2009 - two screen prints, hand stitched on cotton, and produced in an edition of 200
-
Kunokaiku urns become everyday domestic objects to address the subjectivity of loss
Kunokaiku urns were created by photographer Marianna Jamadi with Mexican ceramic studio Menat, as a way to remember a loved one at home
By Sheila Lam • Published
-
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 and Book3 expand its ecosystem with speed and sophistication
Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy Book3 Ultra are designed to deliver a premium computing experience
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Design, air filtration and sustainability meet in the ‘Air’ lamp
‘Air as design inspiration’: the ‘Air’ lamp by Adam D Tihany and Contardi puts ecological issues at the forefront
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Tracey Emin interview: ‘If I hadn’t made art, I would be dead by now’
We speak to British artist Tracey Emin in her hometown of Margate, where she has created a new painting to raise funds for TKE Studios, a pioneering complex serving the next generation of radical creatives. ‘I don’t want to die being an artist that made really interesting work. I want to make a future.’
By Sheila Lam • Last updated
-
Tracey Emin lays bare her own traumas in piercing new show
The British artist is as deeply personal as ever in her first London exhibition in five years, reflecting on loss, mourning, insomnia and spiritual love at White Cube Bermondsey
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Last updated
-
Anya Hindmarch guest edits Sotheby’s 'Contemporary Curated' London auction
By Julia Neel • Last updated
-
Night vision: Tracey Emin and Joseph Kosuth light up Blackpool's Grundy Art Gallery
By Elly Parsons • Last updated
-
Love note: ahead of her sabbatical, Tracey Emin presents ’Stone Love’ in NYC
By Pei-Ru Keh • Last updated
-
Love stone: Tracey Emin embraces marriage at Art Basel Hong Kong
By Jessica Klingelfuss • Last updated
-
Subversive stitching: ’Art_Textiles’ at The Whitworth, Manchester
A new show at the Whitworth explores how textiles are used as an art medium to highlight social, political and artistic ideas.
By Ali Morris • Last updated
-
Art Basel Miami Beach 2013: The Florida fair steps out of the shadows of its Swiss sibling
By Caroline Roux • Last updated