Alma Allen, the sculptor selected to represent the United States at this year’s Venice Biennale, has joined French blue-chip Galerie Perrotin, which has locations in Paris, London, Hong Kong, New York, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Los Angeles.
as art newsMaximiliano Duron and Sarah Douglas reported in November on the selection of Allen, an artist who was born in 1970 but has lived in Tepoztlán, a small town outside Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City, since 2017. He lived in Joshua Tree, California before moving to Mexico. Allen is best known for his large-scale sculptures, often made of stone, wood, and bronze, but he also began using homemade robotic equipment to create his sculptures.
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According to Perrotin, before accepting Perrotin, Allen was represented by Olney Gleason and Mendes Wood DM, both of whom dropped the artist after Allen accepted the Biennale commission. new york times. In past years, Allen was represented by Blum & Poe and Kasmin, but both galleries closed last year. (Kasmin transitioned into Olney Gleason last August.)
Rowena Chiu, director of Perrotin’s London gallery, said: “We see him as an artist who has had a quiet, sustained practice for many years.” new york times. “He came from a poor family – he was a completely self-made man. He felt that art should be able to transcend current politics.”
Chiu joined Perrotin last fall to lead the gallery’s new London store, a 3,800-square-foot space in the five-star Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair.
Allen is an unusual choice for the U.S. Pavilion because he lacks high-profile museum exhibitions or commissions. He has had two major museum exhibitions: at the Anahua Cali Museum in Mexico City in 2023, and at the Palm Springs Art Museum in California in 2018. his resume, art news It was previously reported that five museums own his work, including the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Additionally, his selection was supported by the American Art Conservancy, the recently formed nonprofit organization in Florida that oversees the exhibition.
according to eraAllen will bring seven or eight new works of art to the biennial, as well as some older pieces that he calls “abstract expressions of personal history.”
The U.S. Pavilion is of particular concern because of the Trump administration’s attacks on the arts and arts funding last year. The administration cut federal funding to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, eliminated grants, and cut back on the workforce. He has also repeatedly tried to pressure museums, including the Smithsonian Institution, to change exhibitions — purge them of any “anti-American ideology” — and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
alan told era He said he endured an “orchestrated campaign” by art dealers, curators and museum directors to persuade him to quit the Biennale committee, singling out David Resnicow, whose communications firm counts many major institutions as clients, including the US pavilion in the past. (Resnicau denied this and said he had concerns about the Art Conservancy’s ability to successfully “realize this project.”)
“I like difficult situations,” Allen said. “Honestly, it makes working more fun. If I had a choice, I would always find some fraught environment to work in.”
Perrotin said it would provide logistical and operational support for the U.S. Pavilion. Allen’s first exhibition at the gallery is scheduled for this fall in Paris.
