Alma Allen Speaks Out on Backlash Over U.S. Pavilion Commission: ‘A Little Stressful’
Sculptor Alma Allen discussed the backlash to his selection to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale in an interview on the podcast “Time Sensitive,” recorded at his home in Mexico City about two weeks before the Biennale opening. Allen said he quickly accepted the invitation from curator Jeffrey Uslip and described the criticism as “a little stressful,” while indicating his U.S. Pavilion exhibition, titled “Call Me the Breeze,” will include both old and new work filling the pavilion and courtyard. The article notes controversy around U.S. selection criteria tied to State Department guidance that proposals should “reflect and promote American values” while not promoting DEI initiatives, and reports that higher-profile artists William Eggleston and Barbara Chase-Riboud declined the role (per the Financial Times). It also reports that Allen’s then-galleries Mendes Wood and Olney Gleason asked him not to accept and dropped him after he did, and that he has since joined Perrotin.
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Museums on Delay, Biennales Draw New Lines