Tracey Emin, A Second Life at Tate Modern reaches its final week
Published on 08/25/2026 at 14:47 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael MĂŒller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Tracey Emin closes out the summer at Tate Modern with the large-scale retrospective A Second Life in the Eyal Ofer Galleries. According to the official exhibition page, the show runs in London from February 27 to August 31, 2026 and traces 40 years of her work Tate Modern exhibition listing.
The Tate Modern retrospective
The exhibition Tracey Emin: A Second Life brings together more than 90 works across painting, sculpture, installation, video, textiles and neon, making it the most comprehensive museum survey of her career to date, as Tate Modern and White Cube emphasize White Cube exhibition announcement.
Installed across the Eyal Ofer Galleries, the show includes early embroidered blankets and videos from the 1990s, the landmark installation My Bed from 1998, and recent large-scale paintings and bronzes, offering a structured view of how Emin has turned autobiography into form over four decades.
Exhibition & show angle on Tuesday
The retrospective’s run through August 31, 2026 positions A Second Life as a late-summer anchor in Tate Modern’s program, with daily opening hours from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM listed by the museum Exhibitionary listing.
For collectors and curators, the exhibition consolidates Emin’s institutional status by situating her confessional drawings, neons and sculptures alongside recent canvases that foreground the female body as a recurring motif, making clear how the artist has expanded beyond the YBA-era image that first made her widely known.
All news and background on Tracey Emin
For further reporting on Tracey Emin’s exhibitions, market results and institutional projects, explore the curated overview in the AD HOC NEWS archive.
The work core in this survey
At Tate Modern, the curatorial narrative follows Emin’s shift from early textile works and videos, where text and image interlace, to paintings that emphasize the body in motion, underscoring how confession, sexuality and grief are formalized rather than merely narrated.
Where Tracey Emin stands now
Tracey Emin currently has the retrospective Tracey Emin: A Second Life on view at Tate Modern in London, scheduled to run through August 31, 2026.
Tracey Emin at a glance
- Artist: Tracey Emin
- Medium / Genre: Installation, painting, drawing, sculpture
- Born: 1963, London, United Kingdom
- Place(s) of practice: Studio practice between London and Margate
- Active since: Early 1990s, with wider recognition through the Young British Artists context
- Key work groups: My Bed, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995, The Last Great Adventure is You, A Fortnight of Tears
- Current/last exhibition: Tracey Emin: A Second Life, Tate Modern, London, February 27 – August 31, 2026
- Major collections: Tate (London), MoMA (New York), Centre Pompidou (Paris), National Galleries of Scotland (Edinburgh)
- Awards: Turner Prize shortlist 1999, Commander of the Order of the British Empire 2013, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire 2020
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Tracey Emin
Where can I see Tracey Emin’s work in summer 2026?
Tracey Emin’s major retrospective Tracey Emin: A Second Life is on view at Tate Modern in London from February 27 to August 31, 2026, presenting more than 90 works across media.
What is the focus of the exhibition Tracey Emin: A Second Life?
The exhibition focuses on Emin’s use of the female body, text and autobiography to explore themes of love, trauma and healing, spanning early textiles and videos through to recent large-scale paintings and bronzes.
Which iconic works by Tracey Emin are included in the Tate Modern show?
The Tate Modern retrospective includes seminal works such as the installation My Bed from 1998, alongside key drawings, neons and paintings that mark turning points in her practice.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
