(cache)Venice Biennale: Will US Exhibition Prove a Humiliation?

Shaping the American exhibition at this year’s Venice Biennale: A commissioner who owned a luxury pet food store and a curator accused of racism. Oh, and an enraged international community.

By Murray Whyte Globe Staff,Updated May 8, 2026, 1 hour ago

A visitor looks at sculptures by Alma Allen inside the United States pavilion at the Venice 2026 Biennale Art, in Venice, Italy.Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Visual Arts

Is the US about to be humiliated on the world’s most prestigious cultural stage?

Visual Arts

Is the US about to be humiliated on the world’s most prestigious cultural stage?

Shaping the American exhibition at this year’s Venice Biennale: A commissioner who owned a luxury pet food store and a curator accused of racism. Oh, and an enraged international community.

By Murray Whyte
Published May 8, 2026

A visitor looks at sculptures by Alma Allen inside the United States pavilion at the Venice 2026 Biennale Art, in Venice, Italy. • Luca Bruno

The Venice Biennale opens May 9, and the most optimism I could muster recently was that the United States could be marked “present,” its entry a national bookmark in the once-every-two-years affair that after more than a century still reigns as the most important showcase of contemporary art in the world.

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Visitors stand outside the Russia pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Russia has been permitted to participate in the Biennale for the first time since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Simone Leigh's "Satellite" sculpture outside the United States pavilion during the 59th Biennale of Arts exhibition in Venice, Italy, in 2022.Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

An array of "Not Yet Titled Works" by US artist Alma Allen in the United States Pavilion during the pre-opening press view of the 61st Venice Art Biennale in Venice on May 5, 2026. 99 countries are participating in the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (2026) which runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026. (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP via Getty Images)MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images

Is the US about to be humiliated on the world’s most prestigious cultural stage?

Shaping the American exhibition at this year’s Venice Biennale: A commissioner who owned a luxury pet food store and a curator accused of racism. Oh, and an enraged international community.

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