The renowned British artist exhibits these new paintings in a digital exhibition hosted by White Cube.
Tracey Emin is arguably years ahead of the curve. Prior to the days when everyone got to see everyone’s unmade beds on Zoom, she exhibited her own bed, “My Bed” (1998), in the Tate Gallery. This year, from June 15 to August 2, White Cube is hosting a digital exhibition focusing on the new works of the renowned British artist.
Appropriately titled “I Thrive on Solitude,” these recent works were created during a period of isolation in Emin’s London home. It is a collection of small-scale paintings focusing on a range of intimate interior spaces that, to her, represent a “transference of emotions and place.” The title hints at how she rejects the stigma of solitude that is normally associated with being alone and in silence. There’s the opportunity to think, to recollect and dream in solitude. For Emin, these works mark the transition into an optimistic future—one in which to flourish and grow.
In a way, these paintings offer a glimpse into Emin’s sanctuary that is her domestic environment. After living in the same house for twenty years, Emin is on the brink of leaving it for a new home. She refers to the works as a “thumbprint of my time being here.” The memories and her sense of belonging, feelings of anticipation and the prospect of adventure are also stirringly captured in these works.
Lastly, these works also represent a shift from one state of being to another: ‘The paintings move from one house to the next, like a channel through my mind.” In other words, Emin embraces change, and there’s renewed purpose and determination in her outlook.
In related news, Emin’s major solo exhibition titled “The Loneliness of the Soul” will open in November this year at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The exhibition will then travel to the Munch Museum in Oslo in spring 2021, followed by the unveiling of “The Mother,” her permanent public commission for Oslo’s Museum Island.
Head to White Cube’s viewing room to see the rest of the collection
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