Sculptor Alma Allen selected to represent U.S. at 2026 Venice Biennale
according to art newsUtah-born, Mexico-based sculptor Alma Allen has been selected to represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale, scheduled to open next May, according to sources. According to sources, the commissioned curator of the museum is Jeffrey Uslip, who said that no official announcement can be made until the government shutdown is over.
this Belle Faxter Newsletter first reported the news. It’s unclear whether Allen and Uslip worked with the commissioning agency, which is common with U.S. pavilions.
this washington post Reports on Thursday said that another pavilion proposal by artist Robert Lazzarini had been selected but later abandoned by the State Department. Lazzarini attributed the decision to bureaucratic issues rather than ideological disputes.
Uslip is currently independent; he curates the Malta pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale. In 2016, he resigned as chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in St. Louis amid controversy over an exhibition by Kelley Walker.
art news Found a page on the website of the nonprofit American Art Conservancy dedicated to the U.S. Pavilion at the 2026 Biennale. Uslip serves on the advisory board of the Conservancy, which, according to its description, “advances the legacy of American artists through preservation, education, and global cultural engagement.” The conservancy was officially incorporated in July as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, according to its website.
Allen exhibited with the now-closed Blum and Poe gallery, which recently closed and renamed Olney Gleason, and is represented by Kasmin. Allen also appeared on Olney Gleason’s art page last month. art news Olney Gleason has been contacted for comment. It is reported that he is currently negotiating with Perrotin Gallery for representation. Perrotin had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.
Allen was born in 1970 and has lived in Tepoztlan, a small town outside Cuernavaca and south of Mexico City, since 2017. He lived in Joshua Tree, California before moving to Mexico. He is best known for his large-scale sculptures, often made of stone, wood and bronze.
In addition to using traditional hand shaping and sculpting methods, Allen also uses new technology, including homemade robotic equipment. His bronze works are made in the foundry of his studio.
“These sculptures are often doing something: they are disappearing, or moving away, or interacting with something unseen. Although they appear static as objects, they are not static in my mind. In my mind, they are part of a larger universe,” Allen previously said.
Allen is an unusual choice for the U.S. Pavilion, as the artists chosen tend to be those with greater recognition and longer resumes than he does. Recent American exponents include blue-chip artists such as Jeffrey Gibson, Simon Leigh, Mark Bradford, Joan Jonas and Ed Ruscha.
According to the resume, which was last updated in May, Allen has conducted two major institutional surveys during his three-decade career: one at the Anahua Cali Museum in Mexico City in 2023 and another at the Palm Springs Art Museum in California in 2018. Earlier this year, 10 of Allen’s sculptures were displayed on 20 blocks of New York City’s Park Avenue. The most recent museum group show on his resume is “Handheld” in 2018 at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, Connecticut. His resume also lists only five museums as holding his work, including the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Artists for each Venice Biennale are selected through a call for proposals by the International Exhibition Advisory Committee, composed of the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of State. Earlier this year, questions were raised about whether the U.S. pavilion would be held in 2026 as the Trump administration made major changes to the federal government, including the National Energy Administration.
These changes also appear to have affected the type of art chosen for the pavilion. This year’s call for proposals added wording that submissions should highlight “artistic works that reflect and promote American values” and “[foster] peaceful relations between the United States and other nations,” as first reported vanity fair.
Since June, artist Andres Serrano and far-right blogger Curtis Yarvin have publicly announced their proposals for the U.S. pavilion, although it’s unclear whether they actually submitted proposals through the application portal.
Producing the U.S. pavilion every two years is an expensive undertaking. The U.S. government only provided $375,000 in funding, but exhibitions often require millions of dollars to complete. Gibson’s 2024 pavilion is budgeted for about $5 million, while Leigh’s 2022 pavilion will cost about $7 million, according to the agency. new york times.
A number of countries have already announced representatives for the Biennale, including Lubaina Himid from the UK, Yto Barrada from France, Henrik Naumann and Sung Tieu from Germany, Abbas Akhavan from Canada and Amanda Heng from Singapore. (Countries have until January 19 to formally submit their pavilions to the Venice Biennale.)
The Australian pavilion in particular has faced controversy. Artist Khaled Sabsabi was selected in February but his appointment was canceled by the Creative Australia Commissioner shortly after it was announced, sparking huge outcry. Then in July, Creative Australia reinstated Sabsabi, and in October awarded him a $100,000 grant for an exhibition in 2027 featuring work that will debut at the Biennale.
