Palazzo Strozzi presents Tracey Emin. Sex and Solitude, the first major institutional exhibition in Italy dedicated to one of the most celebrated British contemporary artists.
Curated by Arturo Galansino, Director General of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, the exhibition allows to immerse into Emin’s varied work, encompassing paintings, drawings, film, photography, embroidery, appliqué, sculptures, and neon installations. The titular themes of sex and solitude underpin over 60 works on display, that span from different moments of her career, taking visitors on an intensely personal yet universally resonant journey that reflects deeply on the themes of the body and desire. A number of the works in the exhibition are presented in Italy for the first time, along with new productions, in different media, specifically created for the show.
Renowned for her candid, confessional approach to art, Tracey Emin creates works where personal stories transform into existential metaphors. Through her honest and autobiographical expression, Emin focuses on themes of the body and figuration, situating herself within a distinct lineage in art history, creating a resonance that both contrasts with and converges upon Florence’s Renaissance heritage.
Tracey Emin. Sex and Solitude is organized by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi. Public Supporters: Comune di Firenze, Regione Toscana, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Camera di Commercio di Firenze. Private Supporters: Fondazione CR Firenze, Intesa Sanpaolo, Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati,Palazzo Strozzi Partners Committee.
Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin DBE RA was born in 1963 in Croydon, London, and grew up in the seaside town of Margate. Her work spans drawings, paintings, tapestries, embroidery, film, bronze sculptures, and neon signs. The artist draws on her own life to inform her work, referencing deeply intimate experiences from her sexual history, abuse, and abortion to gender, relationships, and, most recently, her cancer and disability.
In 1999 she attracted huge publicity when she was nominated for the Turner Prize and exhibited My Bed at Tate Gallery, London. From there, Emin’s career continued to grow: in 2007 she represented the United Kingdom at the 52nd Venice Biennale, in 2011 she was made the Royal Academy’s Professor of Drawing, one of the first two female professors in the history of the institution.
Today Emin enjoys full institutional recognition. She has recently opened the Tracey Karima Emin (TKE) Studios in Margate, a professional artist’s studios entirely subsidized by her, with an additional free, studio-based, art school programme called Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR).
In 2024, she was honoured with a Damehood in the King’s Birthday Honours for her services to art.
The exhibition features content that includes representations of sexuality and the body that may be sensitive for some people. It is recommended that children under the age of 14 be admitted only if accompanied by an adult.
Cover: Tracey Emin, I waited so Long (det.), 2022. Photo: HV-Studio. Courtesy of the Artist and Xavier Hufkens, Brussels ©Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, DACS 2024.