Alma Allen’s Pavilion Appointment Exposes the Murky Politics Behind Venice 2026

For months, the art world has been speculating about who would pass the “Trump test” and take over the U.S. pavilion at the upcoming Venice Biennale, set to open on May 10. With little more than six months to go until the event, the U.S. Department of State finally confirmed on Monday (Nov. 24) that Mexico-based artist Alma Allen will represent the United States. Titled “Alma Allen: Call Me the Breeze” and curated by Jeffrey Uslip, formerly chief curator of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and curator of the Malta pavilion in 2024, the pavilion will feature nearly 30 bronze sculptures by the artist that, as the announcement promises, will highlight “Allen’s alchemical transformation of matter and explore the concept of ‘elevation,’ both as a physical manifestation of form and as a symbol of collective optimism and self-realization, furthering the Trump Administration’s focus on showcasing American excellence.”

Considering the caliber of previous artists representing the country—including Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Jenny Holzer, Jasper Johns, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Sarah Sze, Martin Puryear, Simone Leigh and Jeffrey Gibson, among others—this is a significant appointment for Alma Allen, who, despite being born in Heber City, Utah, has been based for many years in Mexico, particularly in Tepoztlán, where he built his studio and aligned himself closely with the contemporary Mexican art scene. His only major moments of institutional momentum in the U.S. were his inclusion in the Whitney Biennial in 2014, where he had his first critical breakthrough, and, most recently, the installation of ten major sculptures along Park Avenue in New York, which were on view through September.

While those who frequent Mexico City Art Week will remember his majestic 2023 show, “Nunca Solo,” in Diego Rivera’s restored Maya temple at the Anahuacalli Museum, Alma has had no solo exhibitions in any major U.S. museums, although he has had work in a few surveys at regional institutions. In terms of what he has to offer, one can’t deny the mastery and beauty of Allen’s shining, gold-colored, hybrid-inspired sculptural works, though they offer little in the way of content or messaging beyond their ability to please the eye. And maybe that was the point; one of the State Department’s key requirements was that proposals must not “operate any programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Allen’s artistic significance lies mainly in his deeply material-oriented yet intuitive process, beginning with hand-whittled clay or wax maquettes that are then cast in bronze, or sometimes carved in marble or other media, before receiving finishes that evoke liquid metal, patina or textured earth. The ripples, cracks and folds that emerge spontaneously in the process suggest metamorphosis, erosion or growth rather than a rigid form, which allows for some critical and curatorial space to contextualize these biomorphic works within more ecological readings, as invitations to a more collaborative and symbiotic human-nature relationship.

But beyond the question of whether his work is worthy of the honor, the confession he made to the New York Times should give all in the art world pause. Allen admitted that he didn’t apply to represent the U.S.; instead, curator Jeffrey Uslip reached out to ask him in October if he would accept the commission. “The State Department approved me before I was asked,” Allen said. “They have been great so far and have given me total freedom in what I want to make.”

This is a particularly unsettling revelation given the chaotic and confusing months leading up to the announcement and highlights the murkiness of the selection process amid Trump-era directives and cuts. According to the New York Times, Allen’s selection was delayed significantly by an overhaul of the selection committee, the earlier choice of another artist whose selection was later withdrawn and then by the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The Baer Faxt newsletter was the first to report the selection, which Artnews then picked up. This followed a Washington Post article from the previous week that revealed another proposal by the almost unknown artist Robert Lazzarini, with independent curator John Ravenal, had initially been selected before being dropped by the State Department. Lazzarini deflected questions in the article, attributing the reversal to a bureaucratic issue rather than an ideological dispute. Lazzarini and Ravenal had secured an institutional partner in the University of South Florida’s Contemporary Art Museum, which mounted a two-person exhibition for Lazzarini in 2019. They submitted their proposal in the summer.

Other artists had also come forward with proposals. Andres Serrano, best known for his “blasphemous” Piss Christ, submitted a Trump-centered proposal expanding on his ongoing project “The Game: All Things Trump,” a sprawling, multi-dimensional installation composed of more than a thousand Trump-related objects, products and memorabilia, most acquired from eBay at a cost of at least $200,000. “My proposal can be read in different ways, as it should be,” Serrano told Observer when asked what the final message might be and how he expects an international audience to interpret the work. “Personally, I think it’s an idea whose time has come. At this moment in history, who better to represent America than the President himself?”

More direct was the message from far-right Curtis Yarvin, a computer engineer-turned-artist and philosopher who is appreciated among the political far right. He planned to partner with Dutch-Egyptian artist Tarik Sadouma on the pavilion. According to an interview with Vanity Fair, the pavilion would have been centered around Titian’s Rape of Europa (1559-62), taken on loan from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Portraying the assault of Europa by the god Jupiter, the painting was likely intended to convey a metaphorical message about the role of the United States in global geopolitics as the power of the old continent wanes. “Europa is getting it from this direction, she’s getting it from that direction, she’s getting it in a lot of different directions,” he told Vanity Fair. “Of course, the fact that you have a pavilion that’s rape-themed at all, I mean, that’s really… Of course, there’s obviously room for feminist voices here in the concept of The Rape of Europa.” If he couldn’t get it on loan, Curtis said he had many other options. At worst, they would have hired someone to forge it and then burn the forgery or use A.I. But ideally, he said, the real thing would be there.Photograph by Timothy Schenck

Given how late his confirmation came after all the soap opera spectacle, Allen plans to create only a few new sculptures, covering the cost himself. The central core of the show will be existing works he has made throughout his career. The State Department will cover the cost of shipping and other transportation, as it typically provides only a minimal amount to produce the pavilion, while costs are usually covered by donors and sponsors associated with the collaborating museum or organization. These coordinate with the National Endowment for the Arts, which traditionally plays oversight and selection roles. In this case, Allen cannot even rely on the usual financial support galleries provide to artists for such a major achievement, which often results in a market revamp. In the New York Times, Allen revealed that his galleries, Mendes Wood and Olney Gleason, asked him not to accept the Venice Biennale commission and dropped him when he did. Both galleries confirmed that they were no longer working with him, but declined to explain why, making the entire nomination and the obscure process behind it even more controversial.

Jeffrey Gibson’s 2024 pavilion was co-commissioned by the Portland Art Museum and SITE Santa Fe, with co-commissioners and co-curators Kathleen Ash-Milby, Abigail Winograd and Louis Grachos. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation then committed a $1 million lead gift as presenting sponsor for the 2024 pavilion.

For the first time this year, the NEA was not involved due to the significant cuts imposed by the Trump administration on its budget, while the administration threatened to terminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services amid its earliest proposals in January. Trump’s cuts, implemented in May, involved the termination of dozens of existing grant offers and payments earmarked for organizations nationwide and, over the months, forced the layoff or resignation of a large part of its staff.

Organizing the pavilion this year is commissioner Jenni Parido, founder of a pet food company and now executive director of the mysterious American Arts Conservancy (AAC), a new Florida-based nonprofit established this September with a mission to advance American visual art through diplomacy, education and cultural legacy. As its website states, it was “founded on the belief that art is a foundational element of a thriving democracy.” Frank Bardonaro (CEO of Brock Group) is president of the board, according to Artnet. On September 8, the AAC announced the appointment of John A. Mocker Jr. (head of a pipe distributor) as secretary; Ryan Coyne (who runs a marketing firm and the We the People Wine company) joined the AAC board as treasurer that same month. Socialite Janet Steinge is AAC vice president. As the organization is new, historical Form 990 filings are not yet available. We do know the AAC has partnered with the Art in Embassies program, but not much else.

The website includes a call for “Patrons to Become Preservers of American Art,” listing different Conservancy Council Giving Levels ranging from minimum contributions of $1,000 to the top “Curators Circle” at $25,000. In the Helpful Information section, the first item is the usual tax exemption documentation. As to where those funds will go, in addition to the 61st Venice Biennale—described as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore America’s artistic presence abroad while realigning its foundations at home”—the AAC lists several initiatives to which money collected could be allocated. Passport to Patriotism is described as “one of our flagship national initiatives,” inviting children ages 5-15 to explore American identity through art and storytelling. Young participants are encouraged “to submit original work reflecting what patriotism means to them—drawing on ideas of freedom, unity, heritage and the diverse cultural fabric of the nation.” The Passport to Patriotism Artworks Sweepstakes extends the same call through 12th grade, with selected student artwork exhibiting in the “Passport to Patriotism: America 250” exhibition in Washington, D.C., which will be curated by a “world-renowned artist” yet to be named and is set to open in 2026 to coincide with the America 250 celebration in the nation’s capital.

Other artists in the upcoming Venice Biennale

Most other participating countries have already announced their representative artists. They include:

• Argentina – Matías Duville

• Australia – Khaled Sabsabi

• Austria – Florentina Holzinger

• Bahamas – Lavar Munroe and John Beadle

• Belgium – Miet Warlop

• Brasil – Adriana Varejão and Rosana Paulino

• Canada – Abbas Akhavan

• Cyprus – Marina Xenofontos

• Czech Republic & Slovak Republic (joint pavilion) – Jakub Jansa and Selmeci Kocka Jusko

• Denmark – Maja Malou Lyse

• Estonia – Merike Estna

• Finland – Jenna Sutela

• France – Yto Barrada

• Germany – Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu

• Great Britain – Lubaina Himid

• Greece – Andreas Angelidakis

• Hungary – Endre Koronczi

• Iceland – Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir

• India – Emerging Indigenous artists (TBA)

• Ireland – Isabel Nolan

• Italy – Chiara Camoni

• Japan – Ei Arakawa-Nash

• Korea – Choi Geon and Hyeree Ro

• Kosovo – Brilant Milazimi

• Latvia – Bruno Birmanis and Mareunrol

• Lebanon – Nabil Nahas

• Lithuania – Eglė Budvytytė

• Luxembourg – Aline Bouvy

• Malta – Charlie Cauchi, Raphael Vella and Adrian Abela

• Netherlands – Dries Verhoeven

• New Zealand – Fiona Pardington

• Nordic Pavilion (Finland/Norway/Sweden) – Klara Kristalova, Benjamin Orlow and Tori Wrånes

• North Macedonia – Velimir Zernovski

• Saudi Arabia – Dana Awartani

• Scotland – Davide Bugarin and Angel Cohn Castle (Bugarin + Castle)

• Singapore – Amanda Heng

• Spain – Oriol Vilanova

• Switzerland – Gianmaria Andreetta, Luca Beeler, Nina Wakeford, Miriam Laura Leonardi, Lithic Alliance and Yul Tomatala

• Taiwan – Li Yi-fan

• Turkey – Nilbar Güres

• Ukraine – Zhanna Kadyrova

• United States – Alma Allen

• Wales – Manon Awst