Huong Dodinh

For over forty years, la Biennale de Lyon has presented two landmark events on the French and international cultural scene: the Lyon Biennale – Contemporary Art and the Biennale de la danse. Our 18th edition of Contemporary Art, opening on 19 September, will live up to that legacy and share the same ambition as the recent dance edition—which drew over 240,000 visitors in September 2025—to transform Lyon, its metropolitan area and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region into a unique hub where artistic creation connects with the widest possible audience, where art speaks to every citizen, and where global influence takes root in a vibrant local territory.

This Lyon rendezvous will pick up where the Venice Biennale leaves off—opening in May 2026—to become the pulsing heart of contemporary art through the autumn. By commissioning new works from artists and offering fresh visitor experiences, we aim to shape a vision of the world enriched by diverse perspectives and cultures.

Every edition draws nearly 300,000 visitors to our exhibitions, and more than 2.7 million to public installations. These figures underscore our commitment to accessibility for all. Through year-round mediation with schools, social services, healthcare organisations, associations and local authorities, we reach out to everyone—students, families, underserved communities and people with disabilities—inviting you to explore the works through talks, workshops and collaborative projects. Putting you at the heart of an increasingly inclusive framework is central to our social and environmen- tal responsibility. The Lyon Biennale sparks conta- gious curiosity, even inspiring some visitors to join artists in creating works as part of our “Biennale en territoires” programme.

This 2026 edition spans key venues across the Lyon metropolitan area. Les Grandes Locos—a historic SNCF site revitalised by the Lyon Metropolis—hosts a vast hall perfect for monumental works, delivering a striking sensory experience. Joining the Musée d’art contemporain, the Institut d’art contemporain de Villeurbanne and the Fondation Art Bullukian are two new sites: the Musée des Tissus, hosting an exhibition tied to its textile heritage with support from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, and the musée des Confluences, where an installation responds to the permanent “Sociétés, le théâtre des Hommes” display. Installations also animate public spaces like the musée des Beaux-arts cloister, Part-Dieu metro station and Saint- Antoine car park with LPA, reimagining the urban landscape and engaging city dwellers.

The Lyon Biennale is also a premier professional platform, drawing artists, curators, gallerists and institutions worldwide for works, dialogue and reflection. Our last edition hosted the General Assembly of the International Biennial Association, linking us with peers across the globe.

Deeply rooted in its territory, the Biennale draws strength from the Government, Lyon Metropolis, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and City of Lyon—to whom we extend our heartfelt thanks. It connects to global art hubs while mobilising a rich network of cultural, community and economic partners. This edition features exceptional collaborations with international delegations, foundations and companies, enabling ambitious new productions and supporting artists’ research. This vibrant ecosystem unites public and private actors in advancing contemporary creation.

In a world of rapid change and image overload, we champion time for contemplation—inviting you to pause, look closely, escape and hear what the invited artists have to say. Engaging with today’s social, political and economic realities, their works challenge assumptions, fuel democratic debate, expand our collective imagination and inspire new ways of living together.

Huong Dodinh

X.K.N 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 2025

In the works presented here, luminous whites and greys are never painted directly but emerge gradually through this process of layering, creating surfaces that seem to hold and emit light. Every line, interval and proportion is precisely calibrated, yet painted freehand, balancing geometry with the subtle irregularities of the hand. These five paintings, conceived as landscapes but equally capable of being hung in portrait format, negotiate fullness and emptiness, density and transparency. Developed over more than six decades, Dodinh’s practice is grounded in repetition, restraint and sustained attention. Her paintings embody a discipline of care.

Light, density, and transparency structure the pictorial language of Huong Dodinh. Working with hand-prepared pigments and organic binders, she constructs surfaces through successive layers, creating compositions in which colour, line and negative space remain in delicate balance. Spaces of circulation unfold between these elements, inviting an imaginative journey without a fixed horizon or centre.

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