Lyon Biennale Features 68 Percent Women Artists, 65 New Works

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The 2026 Lyon Biennale of contemporary art, running through December 13, features 68 percent women artists among its 119 participants, with 65 new creations and 12 adaptations of existing works. Artistic director Isabelle Bertolotti appointed curator Catherine Nichols, praising her“regard légèrement décentré” or“slightly off-center gaze” during the opening speech for the 18th edition.

Nichols, an Australian-born curator based in Berlin who also works at Hamburger Bahnhof, integrated art from Oceania into the Biennale, with works by Australian artists like Serwah Attafuah and Mai Nguyễn-Long. Māori artists, including Ngahina Hohaia and Rangi Kipa, also contribute pieces drawing on collective memory and ancestral customs. Nichols emphasized the interwoven nature of the exhibition, stating:“there's no 'section' for people from Oceania... everybody's interwoven with everybody else around the questions that they are reflecting on in their practices.”

Titled“To pass from one dream to another,” a phrase from a Walter Benjamin text, the Biennale reinterprets French artist Robert Filliou's concept of“economy” as a“poetic economy.” Lyon's historical role as a trade city influenced Nichols's approach, with themes of consumption, commodification, and industry evident throughout the exhibition's three principal venues. Additional statistics include 29 percent French artists and 23 percent of artists under 35.

At Les Grandes Locos, a 19th-century industrial building, large-scale installations include Laure Prouvost's multimedia work evoking a whale's belly and Joël Andrianomearisoa's textile piece using 44 kilometers of material. Akwasi Bediako Afrane's Cerberus T-26 Dance of Dialogue (2026) addresses digital consumption through repurposed electronic waste, while Sriwhana Spong's installation features a silk swathe dyed with Fanta. Indonesian artist Candrani Yulis's Placing Bets Beyond the Line of Faith comments on religion and feminine identity, and raumlaborberlin created a grotto-like enclave from 120 metric tons of compressed paper strips. Dutch artist Mette Sterre's absurdist workplace-themed installation also features.

The Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs, a 19th-century museum typically closed for renovations, reopened for the Biennale. It hosts artworks such as EVA & ADELE's Pepto-Bismol pink Peugeot Boxer and narrative works by Ida Lawrence. Other installations include Mikhail Karikis's six-channel video We are Together Because... (2025), featuring 52 teenagers, and Mercedes Azpilicueta's interactive installation. At macLYON – Musée d'art contemporain, artists like Ouassila Arras explore Franco-Algerian histories, and Álvaro Urbano's destroyed wall reveals vegetation. The exhibition also incorporates natural history items from the Musée des Confluences. Emerging artists are showcased at IAC (Institute of Contemporary Art), with works like Katariin Mudist's Solution temporaire (2026) and Maja Fredin's installations on food and body image.

We previously reported:

Artist Camille Provost will open her second exhibition, an interactive show of puzzle-like sculptures, at Acne Paper's Palais Royal space in Paris.

Hélia Paukner has been named the new artistic director of the Biennale de Lyon and director of macLYON, effective February 1, 2027.

Source: Observer Arts

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