Edmund de Waal’s duo show with Axel Salto opens at the Hepworth Wakefield, the final stop of the travelling exhibition, on 22 November 2025. Curated by de Waal, the exhibition is the first major UK exhibition of acclaimed Danish ceramicist Axel Salto (1889–1961). Salto’s ceramics will be shown alongside lesser-known and unseen works on paper, illustrations, writings and textiles, with a major new installation by de Waal reflecting on Salto’s enduring influence.

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Edmund de Waal’s solo exhibition, the eight directions of the wind, opens at The Huntington, Los Angeles, on 18 October. Unfolding across three locations at The Huntigton, the exhibition presents a series of new site-specific installations which explore the movement of ideas, people, and objects. Each installation incorporates text, natural materials, and recent works by de Waal, inviting visitors to reflect on the transmission of stories and histories that shape contemporary culture.

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Edmund de Waal’s Library of Exile, 2019–2020, will become a visible part of the Warburg Renaissance at the Warburg Institute in London. First unveiled at the Venice Biennale in 2019, before travelling to the Japanisches Palais, Dresden, 2019–2020, and The British Museum, London, 2020–2021, the installation functions as a reading and temporary exhibition room. Visitors are encouraged to sit and read the books contained in the library, almost all of which are in translation, exploring the idea of language as migration – from Ovid, Tacitus and Voltaire to the German children’s writer Judith Kerr.

In addition to his gift to the Warburg, Edmund de Waal will donate almost 2,000 books from his acclaimed installation to the Mosul University Library in Iraq to help rebuild its collection.

Warburg Institute

Congratulations to Edmund de Waal on being awarded the medal of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by France.

We congratulate Edmund de Waal on being awarded the Isamu Noguchi Award for 2023. Established in 2014 and presented annually, the award celebrates Noguchi’s legacy by acknowledging artistic excellence in highly accomplished individuals who share his spirit of innovation, imagination and commitment to creativity. 

Marking its landmark tenth year, the Noguchi Museum will host the presentation of the award on Tuesday, 12 September 2023, in recognition of artist and writer Edmund de Waal, artist Theaster Gates, and novelist and editor Hanya Yanagihara.

Isamu Noguchi

Edmund de Waal's newest book, Letters to Camondo, has been published in France, UK and USA.

Count Moïse de Camondo lived a few doors away from Edmund de Waal's forebears, the Ephrussi, first encountered in his bestselling memoir The Hare with Amber Eyes. Like the Ephrussi, the Camondos were part of belle époque high society. They were also targets of anti-semitism.

Camondo created a spectacular house and filled it with the greatest private collection of French eighteenth-century art for his son to inherit. But when Nissim was killed in the First World War, it became a memorial and, on the Count's death, was bequeathed to France.

The Musée Nissim de Camondo has remained unchanged since 1936. Edmund de Waal has explored the lavish rooms, exquisite objects and detailed archives. In a haunting series of letters, he writes to the Count, and gets to know the boy who journeyed from Constantinople and became a model French citizen, before all that was gained was torn away.

Order a copy here.

The British Museum has published a catalogue on Edmund de Waal's work, centring around his "library of exile", currently shown at the museum.

"This beautifully produced book reflects upon the themes raised by de Waal’s thought-provoking work of art. A preface by Booker Prize-nominated author Elif Shakef considers the importance of literature and its capacity to transcend language and borders. The introduction from British Museum Director, Hartwig Fischer, positions the artwork within the wider context of the Museum’s collection, highlighting the dialogue between objects through time, from ancient history to the contemporary. Finally, de Waal concentrates on the work itself, its journey to the British Museum via Venice and Dresden, and its future role in the foundation of the new University of Mosul Library. 'Library of exile' is a contemplative read which celebrates language and the opportunity for dialogues with the displaced."

British Museum