Tate Modern hosts major retrospective of Ana Mendieta

A significant survey of the work of Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta is currently on display at the Tate Modern in London. The exhibition, which opened on July 15, 2026, and runs through Jan. 17, 2027, marks the first major U.K. retrospective of the artist's work in more than a decade.

Curated by Valentine Umansky and Michael Wellen, the show features over 120 works, including photographs, films, sculptures, paintings, and drawings. The exhibition is organized thematically by physical and metaphorical locations, such as The Cave, The Grove, The School, and The Sacred Grounds, rather than following a traditional chronological order.

The survey highlights Mendieta's multidisciplinary practice, which often explored themes of identity, displacement, and the connection between the female body and nature. The artist is widely recognized for her Silueta Series, produced between 1973 and 1980, in which she created ephemeral earth-body works by carving or tracing her silhouette into natural landscapes.

In a 1984 statement regarding her creative process, Mendieta noted that her work was rooted in the tradition of Neolithic art, emphasizing the emotional and sensual qualities of her materials over their formal characteristics. According to exhibition wall text, the artist described her practice as an attempt to return to a maternal source, a response to her experience of being cast from nature following her childhood exile from Cuba.

The exhibition provides a comprehensive look at the artist's career, reflecting her ongoing engagement with ancient sites and the natural world.