Phileas supports three artists at the 18th Biennale de Lyon, France
Huda Takriti, James Lewis and Birke Gorm at the 18th Biennale de Lyon, France
Founded in 1991, the Biennale de Lyon is the most important large-scale festival of contemporary art in France. The 18th edition in 2026 is curated by Catherine Nichols. Her curatorial concept emphasises storytelling, transformation and the role of art in addressing complex social, political and environmental issues.
Huda Takriti (born 1990 in Damascus, Syria) lives and works in Vienna. Her practice spans video, installation, painting and performance, exploring intersections of memory, political history, and archival narratives through themes of displacement, identity, and power. Trained in painting at the University of Damascus and Transdisciplinary Arts at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, she brings a painterly sensibility to time-based media. Her work has shown at MQ Freiraum, Kunsthalle Wien, and Camera Austria.
James Lewis (born 1986 in London) lives and works in Vienna. His practice explores the entanglement of ecological fragility and technological systems. Working across sculpture, sound and installation, he draws attention to how environments are shaped by industrial processes, datafication and the accumulation of waste materials. His works often evoke botanical or geological forms, yet are built from the debris of human activity, pointing to cycles of extraction, consumption and survival. His work asks how life can adapt after systems of exploitation, and what resilience might look like in their aftermath.
Birke Gorm (born 1986 in Hamburg, Germany) lives and works in Vienna. She is known for her powerful installations made from discarded everyday materials. Her work explores themes of memory, identity and the impact of capitalism, often highlighting overlooked stories – especially those of women. Collecting scrap metal, cardboard, broken ceramics and jute sacks, she creates fragile yet monumental figures and installations.
We’re proud to support three Austrian and Austria-based positions at this year’s Biennale de Lyon.
