Balenciaga Announces New ‘Artean’ Art Series Highlighting Basque Heritage
Balenciaga and its creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli have launched a new art series titled “Artean,” a term meaning “between” in the ancient Basque language, as an initiative to honor the Basque roots of the fashion house’s founder, Cristóbal Balenciaga.
The inaugural event of the Artean series will take place during Salone del Mobile, also known as Milan Design Week. The exhibition will focus on the work of Eduardo Chillida, a renowned Basque sculptor whose abstract artistic pieces were said to have been admired by Cristóbal Balenciaga.
“I have always believed that art is, above all, a generator of emotion — a vehicle for culture, certainly, but more importantly, a source of energy, thought and curiosity,” stated Piccioli, who developed the project to establish a “space that brings together art and the house’s Basque heritage.”
The exhibition is set to display seven of Chillida’s works created between the 1950s and 1990s. These pieces echo a creative approach similar to that of Cristóbal Balenciaga. The selection also includes a direct homage to the couturier. The works will be exhibited at Balenciaga’s Via Montenapoleone store in Milan, integrated with both the store’s architectural space and the house’s spring 2026 collections.
Piccioli commented on the exhibition, stating, “I am certain that anyone who visits the exhibition will immediately sense how powerful and enduring this creative conversation remains. I am both happy and proud to share a piece of this history.”
Balenciaga representatives describe the Artean series as a way to connect the brand’s Basque heritage with contemporary design concepts.
The first Artean exhibition is scheduled from April 21 to 27. The opening event will feature Mikel Chillida, grandson of Eduardo Chillida and director of Chillida Leku, an open-air museum located near Hernani, Spain, dedicated to the sculptor’s work.
Earlier in 2024, Chillida Leku hosted an exhibition named “Chillida/Balenciaga — Plying Form.” According to the museum’s website, it explored “the common places of the sculptor of air and the couturier of space.”