June Carter Cash
Musical Monikers
Madonna
Justin Bieber
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Babe Ruth
Johnny Cash
Georgia O'Keefe
I Survived
1 photo
Quick Facts
Best Known For
Tracey Emin is a British artist who emerged in the 1980s, during the "Young British Artists" movement. She is noted for her provocative and controversial pieces, including "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995," "My Bed" and "The Last Thing I Said To You is Don't Leave Me Here."
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowTracey Emin. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:10, May 24, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/tracey-emin-20891535.
Tracey Emin. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/tracey-emin-20891535 [Accessed 24 May 2013].
"Tracey Emin." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 24 2013, 10:10 http://www.biography.com/people/tracey-emin-20891535.
"Tracey Emin," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/tracey-emin-20891535 [accessed May 24, 2013].
"Tracey Emin," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/tracey-emin-20891535 (accessed May 24, 2013).
Tracey Emin [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 24] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/tracey-emin-20891535.
Tracey Emin, http://www.biography.com/people/tracey-emin-20891535 (last visited May 24, 2013).
Tracey Emin. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/tracey-emin-20891535. Accessed May 24, 2013.
Synopsis
Tracey Emin, an artist of British Romani and Turkish Cypriot origin, has been noted for her provocative and sexually explicit work for decades. Emin emerged in the late 1980s, during the "Young British Artists" movement, with controversial pieces such as "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995," "My Bed" and "The Last Thing I Said To You is Don't Leave Me Here." Throughout her career, she has produced a variety of work ranging from paintings and textiles to sculpture and video,
Contents
many of which reflect her troubled childhood and teenage years. In 2007, Emin was inducted into the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and in 2011, she was appointed as a professor of drawing.
Early Life
Tracey Emin was born on July 3, 1963 in Croydon, South London, England, to parents of British Romani and Turkish Cypriot descent. Emin grew up in Margate, in the Thanet district of East Kent, England, along with twin brother Paul. Her father owned the Hotel International in Margate, but when the business failed, the family suffered financially. She had some troubled times during her adolescence including being raped at the age of 13, an event that influenced much of her later artwork. Emin became pregnant when she was 18, and underwent an abortion.
Artistic Career
After a troubled childhood and adolescenc, Emin decided to study fashion at the Medway College of Design in 1980. There, she met boyfriend Billy Childish, who led her to become a member of The Medway Poets, an English punk-based performance art group in Medway, North Kent. After working for several years as an administrator for Hangman Books, which specialized in Children's poetry, Emin decided to pursue a career in art. She graduated from Maidstone College of Art in 1986 and moved to London, where she earned a Master of Arts degree in painting from the Royal College of Art in 1989. She also studied modern philosophy for a brief period at Birkbeck, University of London.
In 1993, with fellow artist Sarah Lucas, Emin opened "The Shop" in Bethnal Green, located on London's East End. There, she sold her pieces and asked for investments in her artwork, and soon met her future art dealer, Jay Jopling. In 1994, Emin had her first solo show, "My Major Retrospective," at the White Cube art gallery in London. The autobiographical exhibit consisted of photographs, pictures of earlier paintings and other personal objects, including a pack of cigarettes an uncle was holding when he was killed in a car crash. This public display of Emin's intimate life details soon became a trademark of her work.
Later Work
Emin rose to fame with her 1995 piece titled "Everyone I have Ever Slept With 1963-1995," a blue tent appliqued with several names in needlework. The piece was later shown at the 1997 "Sensation" exhibit at the Royal Academy in London, and met with mixed reactions. In 1997, Emin, relatively unknown at the time, made headlines when she appeared intoxicated in a television interview, in which she spoke about recipients of the esteemed Turner Prize.
profile name: Tracey Emin profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Cool Britannia - Cultural Icons: 1990s
View groupIn the 1990s, London's artists and cultural tastemakers embraced their British roots. Pop acts like Oasis, Elastica and the Spice Girls dominated 90's music, and reinforced British pride with symbolic use of the Union Flag—Oasis member Noel Gallagher famously used a Union Jack guitar while "Ginger Spice" Geri Halliwell wore the symbol on her trademark, flashy dress. The period was also marked by influential designers like John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, whose unique designs established numerous fashion trends for the decade. Biography.com celebrates these prominent figures, and the many others who led the way for "Cool Britannia."
Cool Britannia - Cultural Icons: 1990s 22 people in this group
-
Famous Cancerians 554 people in this group
-
Famous Artists
View groupBrowse our collection of history's most famous artists, whose striking, pioneering artwork has depicted progressive interpretations as well as personal and historic events. Explore full biographies, and view photos and videos, of notable artists such as Jeff Koons, Romare Bearden, Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh and more, only at Biography.com.
Famous Artists 285 people in this group
