Tracey Emin

A major figure in Contemporary British art, Tracey Emin is known for her autobiographical, confessional, feminist works which draw from her personal life with a raw and unapologetic authenticity. Rising to international fame as a part of the loosely affiliated group the Young British Artists (YBAs) in the 1990s, Emin’s seminal works, including My Bed (1998), a conceptual installation of the artist’s own bed, complete with cigarettes, condoms and dirty underwear, attracted global media attention and courted controversy, catapulting her into the public consciousness.

With a painting style that is characterised by intuitive, gestural strokes, Emin’s work draws inspiration from figurative painters throughout history, in particular Edvard Munch, who also embraced painful experiences to create his art. Her flowing figures - often erotic, female nudes - depicted in dripping paint, with fragments of confessional text and untidy lines, are charged with an abrasive realness. “Art is like a lover whom you run away from but who comes back and picks you up,” she says of her practice, which spans many different forms of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, neon text, video and installation.