London Art Exhibitions: Emin, Ramses, Hockney & More – Feb 2026
A major retrospective of the perform of Dame Tracey Emin opened at Tate Modern in London today, showcasing over 100 works spanning the artist’s 40-year career. The exhibition, titled “Tracey Emin: A Second Life,” includes paintings, video, textile, neon, sculpture, and installation pieces, with some works going on display for the first time.
The exhibition traces key life events that have shaped Emin’s artistic journey, focusing on themes of love, trauma, and personal growth. Early works, such as the 1995 video “Why I Never Became a Dancer,” are featured alongside more recent pieces, including the monumental bronze sculpture “I Followed You to the Complete” (2024), which is displayed on the approach to the Tate. “Why I Never Became a Dancer” juxtaposes affectionate imagery of Emin’s hometown, Margate, with a narration detailing experiences of sexual abuse and misogyny, establishing the artist’s signature first-person voice and intimate storytelling style.
According to Tate Modern, 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 exhibition as well presents works from her first solo show at White Cube, “My Major Retrospective 1982-93,” comprising tiny photographs of early paintings she later destroyed.
Elsewhere in London, Battersea Power Station is hosting “Ramses and the Pharaoh’s Gold,” an exhibition described as showcasing the “positively Trumpian vision” of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. At the Royal Academy, Rose Wylie’s paintings are on display in “Rose Wylie: The Picture Comes First,” an exhibition noted for its “splashy, frenetic” style. York Art Gallery is presenting “Making Waves,” a survey of Japanese woodblock printing, even as Hauser & Wirth in Somerset is hosting a retrospective of the work of war photographer Don McCullin, marking his 90th birthday.
The PhotoVogue festival in Milan is currently spotlighting the theme of “Women by Women,” celebrating female expression and confronting the challenges to women’s rights and visibility. Featured in the festival is the work of Keerthana Kunnath, whose photograph “Not What You Saw” depicts a bodybuilder from South India, challenging conventional notions of femininity and strength.
Other art events include the completion of Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona after 144 years of construction, and a novel festival in Bodmin, Cornwall, aimed at attracting art lovers to the region. The National Gallery in London is exhibiting “The Birth of the Virgin” by the Master of the Osservanza, a 15th-century painting depicting the lives of women in medieval Italy.