Viewing Crossing Into Darkness

Curated by the indomitable Dame Tracey Emin, Crossing Into Darkness is a powerful and timely group exhibition at Carl Freedman Gallery bringing together an extraordinary roster of international artists — including Louise Bourgeois, Francisco Goya, Marlene Dumas, Georg Baselitz, Antony Gormley, Gilbert & George, Edvard Munch, Anselm Kiefer and others, alongside works by Emin herself — whose practices explore the profound and often unsettling dimensions of human experience.

Rather than presenting darkness as something merely fearful, the exhibition frames it as a necessary threshold toward renewal and insight. The works confront feelings of melancholy, despair, fragmentation, uncertainty and transformation — experiences that feel especially resonant in the current era of upheaval. Within this context, darkness becomes a metaphoric space for reflection and emotional immersion, rather than an endpoint. Emin’s selection emphasises art’s capacity to penetrate and resonate with the soul, underscoring her belief that encountering difficult emotions through art can be a deeply human and cathartic process.

Presented across the gallery’s spacious three exhibition rooms in the converted Thanet Press building, Crossing Into Darkness is free and promises to be an immersive experience — one that asks us to consider how confronting the shadowy aspects of life can ultimately lead toward light, empathy and understanding.