Glimpse of the work I wanted You To Fuck Me So Much I couldn’t Paint Anymore, 2020
Camera obscura by Beatrice Brandini
Palazzo Strozzi presents Tracey Emin. Sex and Solitude, the first institutional exhibition in Italy dedicated to one of the most important and influential contemporary artists, at an international level.
Tracey Emin: The Sea came in, The Sea went out – It Left me, 2022
Tracey Emin: Like The moon, You Rolled across my back, 2022
There are sixty works present in the splendid setting of Palazzo Strozzi, in which there are two main themes of her research, on the one hand the body and sexuality, on the other the solitude and vulnerability of the human being. There are paintings, sculptures, drawings, videos, embroideries and photographs, in which with crudeness and total honesty, Tracey Emin addresses these themes, different media that underline the versatility of Emin.
Tracey Emin: Exorcism of the last painting I ever made, 1996
A glimpse of the exhibition Tracey Emin Sex and Solitude in the foreground the sculpture All I want is you, 2016
For the artist, life and art are intertwined, her works demonstrate how intimate and private moments become metaphors and allegories of existence. Ultimately, the themes that have characterized and tormented human beings are always the same: love, solitude, sexuality, illness.
Tracey Emin: You were still There, 2018
Tracey Emin: I don’t not expect, 2002
But above all, love is the central theme in Tracey Emin’s work, investigated and explored in all its facets, between desire, romanticism and pain. The titles of the works are also fundamental, often within the same works, direct and explicit words: No Distance, I Don’t need to see you, I can fell you! Hurt Hart Not Fuckable…
Tracey Emin: A cloud of blood an invisible mist, 2013
Tracey Emin: You have no idea how safe you make me feel, 2013
Tracey Emin: Those who Suffer LOVE, 2009
The exhibition opens with the large installation in the Renaissance courtyard of the Palace, I Followed You To The End (2024), a monumental bronze work, whose protagonist is a female body.
Arturo Galansino in a press conference, in the background There Was No Right Way, 2022
Tracey Emin: Not Fuckable, 2024
The famous neons that replicate her handwriting are also present, including Love Poem for CF (2007), where a poem becomes a universal declaration of pain and desire.
“I want people to feel something when they look at my work. I want them to feel themselves. That’s what matters most.” Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin: I want you more, 2017
Tracey Emin: The Decent 2112 HK, 2016
The exhibition curated by Arturo Galansino, General Director of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, opens on Sunday 16 March and will remain open until 20 July 2025.
Arturo Galansino again at the press conference, with Automatic Orgasm, 2001 in the background
Tracey Emin: You Should have Saved me, 2023
“Contemporary art is an integral part of Palazzo Strozzi’s identity and we are proud to present Tracey Emin’s works in a major exhibition that is unprecedented in Italy, allowing the public to discover one of the most famous artists on the contemporary scene”. Arturo Galansino.
Glimpse of the exhibition Tracey Emin. Sex and Solitude
Courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi with the monumental work by Tracey Emin: I Followed You To the End, 2024
I conclude with these words from the artist, words that I not only fully agree with, but that I believe to be fundamental in the education and inspiration of the new generations. “I think a lot of young people are inspired by what is trendy, by the fashion of the moment. But art is not the same thing. Art should always be about what is true for you as an individual, always.” Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin: Sex and Solitude, 2025
Camera Oscura 2 by Beatrice Brandini
Good life to everyone!
Beatrice