Cristina Babiloni Explores Myth and Materiality in Major Solo Exhibition at Fundación Bancaja
Valencia, Spain
21 November 2025
From 20 November 2025 to 22 February 2026, Fundación Bancaja in Valencia presents 'Caleb', a significant solo exhibition by Castellón-born artist Cristina Babiloni, represented internationally by Opera Gallery. Curated by Alicia Ventura, the exhibition brings together around thirty medium- and large-format works—many created specifically for this project—spanning painting, sculpture and installation.
The title refers to the mythical island of Caleb, a fictional place that has circulated for years through urban legend. Babiloni uses this imagined territory as an anchor, constructing a landscape where relationships between humans and the natural world unfold. The exhibition reflects her long-standing fascination with the ocean and the sea floor—ecosystems whose movements, textures and shifting light have shaped her artistic vocabulary.
Working with materials such as burlap, sand, cardboard, ceramics, acrylic paint and, more recently, methacrylate, Babiloni develops her own marine-inspired ecosystem populated by organic forms and tactile surfaces. Her latest works turn towards terrestrial materials: earth, volcanic matter and geological forms that generate new landscapes and extend her exploration of nature’s cycles.
One of the exhibition’s central threads is the interplay between body, matter and time. The artist’s engagement with natural materials—pigments, minerals, wax, oxides, salt, ash—evokes processes like sedimentation and erosion, infusing her surfaces with a powerful sense of temporal depth. The physicality of her practice, where materials are not only applied but handled and shaped through bodily gesture, reinforces the connection between human presence and the wider environment.
Her multidisciplinary approach spans painting, sculpture, drawing and object-making, often using techniques rooted in construction and ceramic industries. Through her dynamic, vibrant palettes and immersive natural scenes, she invites viewers to reflect on their relationship with the Earth.
