What the critics are saying about Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch at the Royal Academy

Seeing their work side by side, it is clear that the artists share ‘a depth of turmoil that can leave you breathless’

Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin in front of I am The Last of my Kind, 2019 (left) and You Came, 2018 (right), on display at the Royal Academy
(Image credit: David Parry)

The old critical maxim that you should “look at the work, not the life” never made much sense with Tracey Emin, said Tim Adams in The Observer. Her uncompromisingly confessional work has always explored her life “in messy close-up”, exposing “body and soul” for all the world to see. And her work is as “visceral” as ever in this long-delayed exhibition, which pairs her art with that of her hero, Edvard Munch.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up