Tracey Emin’s Monumental Bronzes Transform the Parisian Landscape
A powerful collection of large scale sculptures unfolds across the Parvis des Droits de l'Homme, tracing the female form's journey from surrender to resilience. The monumental works remain on view through November 2026.
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The Parvis des Droits de l’Homme in Paris becomes a gallery of profound emotional resonance as Tracey Emin’s monumental bronze sculptures command the expansive public space. Installed together through November 2026, these large scale works constitute a meditation on transformation, their surfaces catching light and shadow to articulate the complex trajectory of the female form.
The sculptural ensemble traces a journey of remarkable emotional depth, moving from kneeling to seated positions. This progression becomes metaphorical language in bronze, speaking to the evolution from surrender towards an unshakeable resilience. Each piece engages with the materiality of the medium, the weight and permanence of bronze conferring gravitas upon these intimate human gestures, enlarging them to monumental scale.
This inaugural presentation within Art Basel Paris’s public programme marks a significant moment for sculpture in the city’s cultural landscape. Conceived as a collaborative endeavour between White Cube, Art Basel Paris and the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, the exhibition demonstrates the power of bringing transformative artistic vision into dialogue with architectural grandeur and civic space.
The works exist in conversation with Emin’s concurrent exhibition of sculptures and new paintings at White Cube Paris, which extends through December 2026. This dual presentation allows for a comprehensive encounter with the artist’s current practice, her exploration of form and figuration unfolding across both the intimate gallery context and the monumental public realm.
Emin’s bronze sculptures possess a visceral immediacy despite their monumental proportions. The surface quality of the work speaks to her characteristic directness, an unflinching examination of human experience rendered in enduring material. Standing before these pieces in the open air of the Parvis, one encounters both the specificity of individual gesture and the universality of human transformation, held in elegant tension.
Imagery courtesy of White Cube (@whitecube).