British artist Tracey Emin will present the most comprehensive exhibition of her career at London's Tate Modern next spring, featuring works spanning her four-decade artistic journey. The exhibition, titled "A Second Life," will showcase more than 90 pieces including some of Emin's most renowned works alongside previously unseen pieces, offering visitors an unprecedented look at one of Britain's most controversial and celebrated contemporary artists.
The exhibition will feature Emin's most famous and headline-grabbing works, including "My Bed" from 1998, which earned her a Turner Prize nomination, and will be displayed alongside never-before-exhibited pieces. "I'm very excited about having a show at Tate Modern," Emin said. "For me it's one of the greatest international contemporary art museums in the world and it's here in London. I feel this show will be a benchmark for me. A moment in my life when I look back and go forward. A true celebration of living."
Emin, who is best known for works like "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995 (The Tent)" and "My Bed," has entered a new phase of her artistic career since being diagnosed with aggressive bladder cancer five years ago. Following her illness and subsequent surgery, she has opened her own art school and begun creating a new body of work that reflects her transformed perspective on life and art.
The exhibition will chronicle Emin's artistic evolution from her "first life" through to her "second life" following her cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. The confessional visual artist has spoken openly about her cancer survival, the extensive surgery she underwent, and how she now lives with a stoma (an opening in her abdomen) and relies on a urostomy bag to collect urine. "I am really happy that I didn't die and I am around to see this exhibition," Emin stated earlier this year.
"A Second Life" will bring together an extensive collection of more than 90 works spanning multiple mediums, including paintings, videos, textiles, neon installations, sculptures, and large-scale installations. This diverse collection demonstrates Emin's uncompromising confessional approach to sharing deeply personal experiences of love, trauma, and personal growth throughout her career.
The Tate Modern emphasized Emin's significant impact on contemporary art, stating that "Emin's commitment to unapologetic self-expression has transformed our understanding of what art can be and continues to influence contemporary art today, using the female body to explore passion, pain and healing." The museum describes the exhibition as spanning "her extraordinary 40-year practice – from seminal installations made in the 1990s, to recent paintings and bronzes going on display for the first time."
The exhibition will begin by presenting works from Emin's first solo exhibition at White Cube, featuring a series of small photographs of her art school paintings from the 1980s, which she destroyed following a difficult period in her life. It will also include the documentary "Why I Never Became a Dancer," which explores her teenage years in Margate, along with other works centered around the seaside town where Emin now provides rent-free studio space to art students.
The exhibition will address some of Emin's most personal and challenging experiences, including sexual assault and abortion. Making its public debut, the 2002 quilt titled "The Last of the Gold" features an A-to-Z guide about abortion, providing advice and support for women facing similar situations. Two of her most significant installations, "Exorcism of the Last Painting I Ever Made" and "My Bed," will also be prominently featured.
The later sections of the exhibition will explore Emin's recent experiences with cancer, surgery, and disability through works including the 2024 bronze sculpture "Ascension" and stills from a new documentary that shows the stoma she now lives with. These pieces represent her artistic response to her medical challenges and her perspective on survival and transformation.
Emin, who was honored with a damehood in King Charles's birthday honors list last year for her services to art, stands as one of Britain's most acclaimed contemporary artists. She was a prominent member of the Young British Artists movement of the 1980s, received a Turner Prize nomination, and currently holds membership in the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts.
Reflecting on the significance of the venue, Emin noted her connection to the Tate Modern's history: "I was there at the opening of the Tate Modern in 2000 – and at the time it felt like the most exciting thing that could ever possibly happen to London. You judge a city by its art," she added in celebration of the gallery's 25th anniversary.
"Tracey Emin: A Second Life" will run at the Tate Modern in London from February 26 to August 30, 2026, marking what the museum calls "the most significant exhibition of Emin's career" and tracing the key life events that have shaped her journey and artistic transformation over four decades.
