Sculptor Alma Allen has reportedly been chosen to represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale, according to multiple media reports including the Baer Faxt newsletter and Vanity Fair. The Utah-born, Mexico-based artist is set to take over the U.S. Pavilion after sculptor Robert Lazzarini was dropped from the previously unannounced selection earlier this month.
Jeffrey Uslip, the pavilion's commissioning curator, stated that no official announcement could be made until the recent U.S. government shutdown ended. However, as of two days after the government reopened, no formal U.S. Pavilion announcement has been issued by officials.
Preparation and selection for U.S. participation in the 2026 Venice Biennale has proven unusually difficult under Donald Trump's second administration, with the opening now less than six months away. The complications stem partly from the Trump administration's cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the agency that typically coordinates with the U.S. State Department to form a selection committee for choosing the U.S. Pavilion exhibition. The White House has directed federal arts funding agencies to prioritize projects related to the country's upcoming semiquincentennial, or 250th anniversary celebration.
According to the Washington Post, the State Department directly selected Lazzarini without the NEA's involvement and contributed $250,000 to the reported $5 million budget for his project. Despite the funding obstacles, Lazzarini was reportedly chosen in September for his sculptures that use spatial distortion to complicate audience expectations. His winning proposal focused on renderings of U.S. national symbols, including George Washington, eagles, and the American flag rendered in his signature wobbly, anamorphic style. Lazzarini believes the collapse of his pavilion project was due to bureaucratic problems rather than political interference.
Another U.S. Pavilion proposal that now seems unlikely to materialize was pitched by Andres Serrano, who wanted to create a mausoleum to President Trump based on his own collection of Trump-branded merchandise.
While Allen is not as established as other artists who have recently represented the U.S. at the Biennale—such as Jeffrey Gibson, Simone Leigh, and Mark Bradford—he is by no means an unknown quantity in the art world. The sculptor has been based in Tepoztlán, Mexico since 2017 and was represented by the New York gallery Kasmin until its recent closure. His large-scale sculptures are often made of stone, wood, and bronze, embracing both traditional craftsmanship and new fabrication technologies in his practice. According to Artnews, Allen is now in talks to be represented by Perrotin gallery.
Prior to taking the lead on the U.S. Pavilion, Uslip curated the Malta Pavilion in Venice in 2022. He has operated independently since his resignation from the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis over a controversial Kelley Walker exhibition in 2016.
Countries have until January 19, 2026, to submit their official pavilion selections. Many nations have already made their choices public, including Lubaina Himid for Great Britain, Yto Barrada for France, and Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu for Germany. The 2026 Venice Biennale is scheduled to run from May 9, 2026, until November 22, 2026.
