June Crespo at the Lyon Biennale

Artist June Crespo (Pamplona, 1982) is taking part in the 18th Lyon Biennale, with the support of Etxepare Euskal Institutua. One of the leading international contemporary art events will open on 19 September and run until 13 December. Her participation is part of ZABAL, Etxepare Euskal Institutua’s programme supporting the internationalisation of contemporary Basque artistic creation.

Since its launch in 1991, the Lyon Biennale has become one of France’s major contemporary art events and an established fixture on the international art calendar.

Body, architecture and matter

Through sculpture, June Crespo explores the relationships between the body, architecture and matter. Working with concrete, resin, metal and found objects, she uses moulding, fragmentation and assembly to create forms that move between the organic and the industrial. Her work pays particular attention to scale, proximity and the ways bodies inhabit space.

In recent years, Crespo has presented solo exhibitions at institutions including the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, CA2M, Artium Museoa, the Secession in Vienna and Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo. In 2022, she also took part in The Milk of Dreams, the central exhibition of the 59th Venice Biennale.

Curated by Catherine Nichols, the 18th Lyon Biennale is entitled Passer d’un rêve à l’autre. Inspired by Lyon’s traboules, it explores relationships, exchanges and forms of circulation that shape collective life.

ZABAL programme

June Crespo’s participation takes place within the framework of ZABAL, launched by Etxepare Euskal Institutua in 2019 to promote the international visibility of contemporary Basque creation and strengthen its connections with the international art scene.

The programme supports long-term networks between artists, professionals, cultural agents and institutions, while enabling international curators, critics and institutional representatives to gain first-hand knowledge of the Basque art context. Crespo herself took part in the Venice Biennale in 2022 within this programme.

Ça colle au basque

Crespo’s participation in Lyon is also part of Ça colle au basque, Etxepare Euskal Institutua’s initiative to strengthen the presence and visibility of Basque culture across the French-speaking world.

The initiative promotes cultural and professional collaborations with institutions, festivals and organisations across the Francophone sphere. Crespo’s participation therefore links the internationalisation of visual arts through ZABAL with a broader strategy to increase the visibility of Basque culture in the French-speaking world.