For the American pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair, see United States Pavilion.
For the American hub at the Cannes Film Festival, see The American Pavilion.

The American pavilion is a national pavilion of the Venice Biennale. It houses the United States' official representation during the Biennale.

Organization and building

The American pavilion was the ninth to be built on the Giardini, but unlike other pavilions, which are built by governments, the American pavilion was privately owned. The three-room Palladian building was constructed in 1930, for the New York Grand Central Art Galleries. Ownership transferred to the Museum of Modern Art in 1954 and to the Guggenheim Foundation in 1986.[1]

For the United States' national representation, a committee of experts select from proposals written by institutions. The Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions is assembled by the National Endowment for the Arts and Department of State.[1] The months-long process involves an application nearly 100 pages in length and a final embargo before announcement.[2]

History

The United States Pavilion at the Venice Biennale was constructed in 1930[3] by the Grand Central Art Galleries, a nonprofit artists' cooperative established in 1922 by Walter Leighton Clark together with John Singer Sargent, Edmund Greacen, and others.[4] As stated in the Galleries' 1934 catalog, the organization's goal was to "give a broader field to American art; to exhibit in a larger way to a more numerous audience, not in New York alone but throughout the country, thus displaying to the world the inherent value which our art undoubtedly possesses."[5]

In 1930, Walter Leighton Clark and the Grand Central Art Galleries spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.[6][7] The pavilion's architects were William Adams Delano, who also designed the Grand Central Art Galleries, and Chester Holmes Aldrich. The purchase of the land, design, and construction was paid for by the galleries and personally supervised by Clark. As he wrote in the 1934 catalog:

"Pursuing our purpose of putting American art prominently before the world, the directors a few years ago appropriated the sum of $25,000 for the erection of an exhibition building in Venice on the grounds of the International Biennial. Messrs. Delano and Aldrich generously donated the plans for this building which is constructed of Istrian marble and pink brick and more than holds its own with the twenty-five other buildings in the Park owned by the various European governments."[5]

The pavilion, owned and operated by the galleries, opened on May 4, 1930. Approximately 90 paintings and 12 sculptures were selected by Clark for the opening exhibition. Artists featured included Max Boehm, Hector Caser, Lillian Westcott Hale, Edward Hopper, Abraham Poole, Julius Rolshoven, Joseph Pollet, Eugene Savage, Elmer Shofeld, Ofelia Keelan, and African-American artist Henry Tanner. U.S. Ambassador John W. Garrett opened the show together with the Duke of Bergamo.[3]

The Grand Central Art Galleries operated the U.S. Pavilion until 1954, when it was sold to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Throughout the 1950s and 1960s shows were organized by MOMA, Art Institute of Chicago, and Baltimore Museum of Art. The Modern withdrew from the Biennale in 1964, and the United States Information Agency ran the Pavilion until it was sold to the Guggenheim Foundation courtesy of funds provided by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.[8]

Financial support by Philip Morris and private money raised by the Committee for the 1986 American Pavilion at the 1986 Venice Biennale made the exhibition at the United States pavilion possible.[9] Since 1986 the Peggy Guggenheim Collection has worked with the United States Information Agency, the US Department of State and the Fund for Artists at International Festivals and Exhibitions in the organization of the visual arts exhibitions at the US Pavilion, while the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation has organized the comparable shows at the Architecture Biennales. Every two years museum curators from across the U.S. detail their visions for the American pavilion in proposals that are reviewed by the NEA Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions (FACIE), a group comprising curators, museum directors and artists who then submit their recommendations to the public-private Fund for United States Artists at International Festivals and Exhibitions.[10] Traditionally the endowment's selection committee has chosen a proposal submitted by a museum or curator, but in 2004 it simply chose an artist who in turn has nominated a curator, later approved by the State Department.[11]

According to estimates provided by The New York Times, the cost of the pavilion's exhibitions has risen substantially over the years, from about $72,400 in 1964 for Robert Rauschenberg’s exhibition (about $720,000 in 2023 dollars) to nearly $2.5 million (roughly $4.4 million today) for Robert Gober (2001), $3.8 million for Martin Puryear (2019) and $7 million for Simone Leigh (2022).[12]

Notable Exhibitions

1964

Rauschenberg's selection for the 1964 Golden Lion marked the United States' ascendancy over European artistic dominance, and the entrance of pop art into canon.[13]

2026

The 2026 appointment of an artist to represent the United States was delayed for months.[14] The selection process is typically carried out by the National Endowment for the Arts, but due to "time constraints and staffing transitions"[15] at the NEA this year, it was the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the State Department that ultimately took on the responsibility. A potential candidate, Robert Lazzarini, was informed and ready to announce in time for the deadline at the end of September, until negotiations failed between his selected institutional partner, the University of South Florida, and the State Department.[16] Due to the withdrawal of this initial selection, and the subsequent government shutdown which was the longest in US history,[17] the final selection of Alma Allen was not announced until the end of November,[18] two months past schedule. Allen was selected by a new entity called the American Arts Conservatory (AAC), which was founded in April 2025, and worked with Jeffrey Uslip, who will curate the exhibition, to create the proposal that ultimately was selected.[19]

The fraught selection process was not just due to the delays in the process, but also because of the changes to the language of the application itself. New language about "American values" was added, while all mentions of diversity were removed.[20] The altered language sparked several controversial proposals with Trump at the center.[21][22] While the galleries have not responded for comment, the two galleries who were representing Allen previously removed him from their rosters following his selection for the Biennale. Allen is now being represented by Perrotin, a French gallery.[23]

Representation by year

Art

YearArtist(s)Curator(s)Show notesRef
61th2026Alma AllenJeffrey UslipCall Me the Breeze, presents biomorphic sculptures inspired by the expansive landscapes of the Americas. The exhibition explores the concept of elevation, both as a physical manifestation of form and as a symbol of self realization. Commissioned by The American Arts Conservancy (AAC).
60th2024Jeffrey GibsonKathleen Ash-Milby, Abigail Winogradthe space in which to place me, Gibson was the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo show. Commissioned by Portland Art Museum and SITE Santa Fe.[24]
59th2022Simone LeighJill Medvedow, Eva RespiniSovereignty, Leigh was the first Black woman to represent the United States with a solo show.[25]
58th2019Martin PuryearBrooke Kamin RapaportLiberty/Libertà[26]
57th2017Mark BradfordChristopher Bedford, Katy SiegelTomorrow Is Another Day[27][28]
56th2015Joan JonasPaul C. Ha, Ute Meta BauerThey Come to Us without a Word[29]
55th2013Sarah SzeHolly Block, Carey LovelaceTriple Point[30]
54th2011Allora & CalzadillaLisa FreimanGloria[31][2]
53rd2009Bruce NaumanCarlos Basualdo, Michael R. TaylorTopological Gardens;[32] won Golden Lion for best national pavilion[2][32]
52nd2007Félix González-TorresNancy SpectorAmerica[33]
51st2005Ed RuschaLinda Norden, Donna De SalvoCourse of Empire[34]
50th2003Fred WilsonKathleen GoncharovSpeak of Me as I Am[35]
49th2001Robert GoberOlga Viso, James Rondeau[36]
48th1999Ann HamiltonKaty Kline, Helaine Posnermyein[37]
47th1997Robert ColescottMimi RobertsColescott was the first Black man to represent the United States with a solo exhibition[38]
46th1995Bill ViolaMarilyn A. Zeitlin[39]
45th1993Louise BourgeoisCharlotta Kotik[40]
44th1990Jenny HolzerMichael Auping[41]
43rd1988Jasper JohnsMark Rosenthal[42]
42nd1986Isamu NoguchiHenry Geldzahler
41st1984Eric Fischl, Charles Garabedian, Melissa Miller, and othersMarcia Tucker, Lynn Gumpert, Ned Rifkin
40th1982Jess, Robert Smithson, Richard Pousette-DartThomas W. Leavitt, Robert Hobbs
39th1980Vito Acconci, Christo, Laurie Anderson, and othersJanet Kardon
38th1978Harry Callahan, Richard DiebenkornRobert T. Buck, Jr., Peter Bunnell, Linda Cathcart
37th1976Richard Artschwager, Charles Garabedian, Robert Irwin, Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Robert Motherwell, Ed Ruscha, Robert Ryman, Joel Shapiro, Richard Tuttle, Andy Warhol, H. C. WestermannThomas M. Messer, Hugh M. Davies, Sam Hunter, Rosalind Krauss, Marcia Tucker
36th1972Diane Arbus, Ronald Davis, Richard Estes, Sam Gilliam, Jim Nutt, Keith SonnierWalter HoppsArbus, posthumously, became the first photographer to be shown at the Biennale,[43] and Gilliam became the first African-American to represent the United States at the Biennale.[44][45]
35th1970Jasper Johns, Josef Albers, Alexander Liberman, Sam Francis, Ed RuschaLois A. Bingham, Henry T. HopkinsOver half of the 47 invited artists boycotted the exhibition in protest of the Vietnam War. The boycott hurt the show's credibility.[46] The Smithsonian retreated from international art shows following this threatened boycott.[47][46][48]
34th1968Leonard Baskin, Edwin Dickinson, Richard Diebenkorn, Red Grooms, James McGarrell, Reuben Nakian, Fairfield Porter, Byron Burford—
33rd1966Helen Frankenthaler, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Jules Olitski—
32nd1964John Chamberlain, Jim Dine, Jasper Johns, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank StellaAlan SolomonRauschenberg won the top award for his silkscreen paintings.[49] The award was symbolic of art world power transfer from France to the United States.[50]
31st1962Dimitri Hadzi, Loren McIver, Jan Müller (artist), Louise Nevelson
30th1960Philip Guston, Hans Hofmann, Franz Kline, Theodore RoszakAdelyn Dohme Breeskin
29th1958?—
28th195635 artists, including Lyonel Feininger, John Marin, Charles Sheeler, Edward Hopper, George Tooker, Jacob Lawrence, Joseph Stella, Georgia O'Keeffe, Mark Tobey, Hedda Sterne, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Willem de KooningKatharine KuhAmerican Artists Paint the City[51]
27th1954Willem de Kooning, Ben Shahn—
26th1952Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, Edward Hopper, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi—
25th1950John Marin, Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Hyman Bloom, Lee Gatch, Rico LebrunAlfred Barr, Alfred FrankfurterHalf of the show was dedicated to Marin, a modernist. The curators split the remaining half.[52]
24th194879 artists including George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, William Baziotes, Arshile Gorky, Jacob Lawrence, Mark Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, Mark Tobey?[53][54]

Architecture

YearArtist(s)Curator(s)Show notesRef

References

  1. ^ Russeth 2019.
  2. ^ Loos, Ted (2011-03-16). "Lisa Freiman, a Curator With a Penchant for the Collective". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331
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  4. ^ "Painters and Sculptors' Gallery Association to Begin Work", The New York Times, December 19, 1922
  5. ^ 1934 Grand Central Art Galleries catalog
  6. ^ "Venice to Exhibit Art of Americans", The New York Times, March 6, 1932
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  49. ^ Larson, Kay (March 18, 1991). "New History". New York. p. 62. ISSN 0028-7369 These [silkscreen] paintings from 1962 on are vital history. They won him first prize at the Venice Biennale in 1964, at which point he quit making them (for a time).
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Bibliography

Further reading

  • Alloway, Lawrence (1968). The Venice Biennale, 1895–1968; from salon to goldfish bowl. OCLC 437606
  • Hossain, Annika (2015). Zwischen Kulturrepräsentation und Kunstmarkt: die USA bei der Venedig Biennale 1895–2015 (in German). Emsdetten/Berlin: Edition Imorde. ISBN 978-3-942810-32-6. OCLC 940476266
  • Monahan, Laurie J. (1945). "Cultural cartography: American designs at the 1964 Venice Biennale". Reconstructing Modernism: Art in New York, Paris, and Montreal. 1964: 369–416.
  • Rylands, Philip & Di Martino, Enzo (1993). Flying the Flag for Art: The United States and The Venice Biennale 1895–1991. Richmond: Wyldbore & Wolferstan. OCLC 901088904
  • Volpi, Cristiana (2013). "United States". Pavilions and Garden of Venice Biennale. Re Rebaudengo, Adele (ed.). Rome: Contrasto. p. 173. ISBN 978-88-6965-440-4.