Sculptor Alma Allen will officially represent the United States at the 61st Venice Biennale, the U.S. State Department announced on November 24th. The Utah-born, Mexico-based artist will present some 30 sculptures in “Call Me the Breeze,” curated by Jeffrey Uslip, a former chief curator of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. The announcement confirms rumors that have circulated since earlier this month, when Robert Lazzarini’s winning proposal for the U.S. pavilion was withdrawn. The historic 43-day government shutdown delayed the announcement of a replacement.
In an interview with the New York Times, Allen said that he did not apply to represent the United States; instead, Uslip solicited the artist’s involvement in October. In the same interview, Allen claimed his galleries—Mendes Wood DM and Olney Gleason—urged him to decline the Venice Biennale commission, and severed ties with him after he accepted it.
Allen’s commissioning institution is the American Arts Conservancy, a Florida-based nonprofit founded just this year. Typically, accredited museums work with artists and curators to develop proposals for the U.S. pavilion, which are then reviewed and selected by the National Endownment for the Arts. Commissioning institutions are responsible for organizing the exhibitions and raising funds to support production costs, only a small portion of which are covered by the State Department.
This year, the NEA did not participate in the selection process, citing staffing and scheduling issues. This left the selection in the hands of the State Department.
In its announcement, the State Department said Allen will exhibit works underscoring his “alchemical transformation of matter and explore the concept of ‘elevation.’” The statement also claims that the selection is part of the Trump administration’s broader push to “showcase American excellence.”
Allen is an atypical choice to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale, widely considered to be the world’s most prestigious exhibition. The artist is less well-known than artists who have previously been granted the honor, and has a relatively sparse exhibition history. The 55-year-old artist has only had two solo museum shows in his career: at Mexico’s Museo Anahuacalli in 2023 and Belgium’s Van Buuren Museum & Gardens in 2021.
Other artists who have represented the United States at the Venice Biennale include Ed Ruscha, Jenny Holzer, Robert Rauschenberg, Simone Leigh, and Jeffrey Gibson.
