I’ve always had a love of printmaking because of the magic and alchemy of it all. You never really know how it’s going to be until you turn the paper over. I think that printmaking is a very intimate practice. These works vary in subject matter but all of them retain a quality of my line”
Tracey Emin is one of the most influential contemporary British artists. Known for her deeply personal and emotionally raw works; she explores themes of love, loss, identity and vulnerability through a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, neon, photography and textiles. Her work explores her own life experience, blending text and imagery, it highlights the complexities of human relationships and emotions.
Emin was part of the Young British Artists (YBA) Movement of the 1990s, alongside Damien Hirst. One of her most famous pieces, "My Bed" (1998), which featured her own unmade bed surrounded by personal items, was shortlisted for the Turner Prize and became a landmark in contemporary art history.
Emin has engaged with printmaking for years, and regards it as a key medium for her practice. She published her first lithograph in 1986. These are original prints, not copies of drawings or other works on paper.
Her work has been exhibited in major public, international galleries including Tate Modern; Tate Britain; the Royal Academy of Arts; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. In 2007 she became a Royal Academician, a much sought after and coveted honour. Her work being in these collections reflects her global influence and desirability of her work and the cultural and financial value for collectors and investors. She was awarded a DBE (Dame of the British Empire) in February 2025.