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The Art World in Focus
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Emma Reyes White Cube 4 September–3 October 2026 Mason's Yard, London
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Press Release

White Cube Mason’s Yard presents an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by Colombian painter Emma Reyes (1919–2003), the first solo presentation of her work in the UK. Across a career spanning nearly six decades, Reyes sought to reclaim and transform the visual vocabularies associated with South American cultures that had long been absorbed into Western painting, developing a distinctive pictorial language to foreground the interconnectedness of the living world.

Self-taught, Reyes reworked the traditions of portraiture and still life, drawing on pre-Columbian artefacts, embroidery, basketry and the organic structures of nature to create densely patterned, animated surfaces.

In her final series ‘Les Masques’ (‘The Masks’), initiated in Bordeaux in 1990, Reyes moved beyond portraiture as individual likeness towards a more expansive image of the human. Rendered in her typical striated style, these works harness the simplified forms found in ritual masks from American, Asian, Oceanian and African cultures.

‘Inside the White Cube’ is a series of exhibitions showcasing work by non-represented artists at the forefront of global developments in contemporary art who have not previously exhibited with the gallery.

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Emma Reyes, Untitled, 1997 © Emma Reyes. Photo © White Cube (Theo Christelis).
About the Artist

Emma Reyes was a self-taught Colombian artist, writer and intellectual whose visionary paintings and drawings, infused with animism, vibrant colour, pulsating line and inspired by pre-Columbian traditions, have only recently gained overdue global recognition. In 2023, her work was the subject of a major retrospective at MAMCO Geneva, and in 2024 she was included in Adriano Pedrosa‘s landmark Venice Biennale, marking her as a pivotal figure in global art, and specifically Latin American contemporary art.

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Also Exhibiting at White Cube

All Exhibitions
Marina Rheingantz
MARINA RHEINGANTZ Míope White Cube 1 September–24 October 2026 Seoul
Group Exhibition
GROUP EXHIBITION White Cube at Claydon White Cube 6 June–14 September 2026 Buckingham
Christian Marclay White Cube 9 September–10 October 2026 Paris
About the Gallery

An international art powerhouse, White Cube was established in 1993 in London by art dealer Jay Jopling. In its space on Duke Street, it served as the early exhibition venue for many now internationally acclaimed British artists, including Tracey Emin, Gilbert & George, Rachel Kneebone and Antony Gormley, who still show with the gallery today.

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Address
25–26 Mason's Yard
London
United Kingdom
Opening Hours
Tuesday - Saturday
10am – 6pm
(1)
London 25–26 Mason's Yard
White Cube contemporary art gallery in Masons Yard London
White Cube
25–26 Mason's Yard, London, United Kingdom
+44 207 930 5373
http://whitecube.com

Opening hours
Tuesday - Saturday
10am – 6pm
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