British artist Anish Kapoor, most famous domestically for “The Bean" sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park, said the United States should be placed in a category with Russia and Israel and barred entry from the Venice Biennale art exhibition due to the country’s “abhorrent politics of hate” and “incessant warmongering.”
Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate."
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Kapoor made his comments to The Guardian days after the exhibition’s five-member international judges panel abruptly quit in protest of the inclusion of Russia and Israel.
Kapoor said he commended the jury’s decison and called it "courageous," but said the judges should have also protested the inclusion of the United States in its decision to resign.
Alma Allen, a Utah-born sculptor, was chosen to represent the U.S. at the event in a decision met with criticism less so because of Allen himself but because of the selection process that some say turned political under President Donald Trump.
The State Department this year managed the United States' Venice Biennale application, which is usually handled by the National Endowment for the Arts, and erased any references to diversity, equity and inclusion from this year’s application, also adding that the chosen artist must create “works of art that reflect and promote American values.”
This year’s exhibition is being organized by the American Arts Conservancy, a nonprofit set up just last year by a woman named Jenni Parido, who has no documented history in the art world but is reportedly close friends with Erin Scavino, a former “Apprentice” contestant and now the wife of Trump’s deputy chief of staff.
American artists William Eggleston, an acclaimed photographer, and Barbara Chase-Riboud, a sculptor and novelist, reportedly turned down the opportunity before Allen, who said he didn’t apply, was chosen.
English-indian artist Anish Kapoor.
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Kapoor threatened to sue the Trump administration after border patrol agents posed for a photograph in front of his Chicago sculpture, colloquially referred to as “The Bean” but formally named “Cloud Gate.” The photo was taken in November toward the end of a federal-led immigration crackdown called "Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago, which resulted in the arrest of more than 3,000 people. At the time, Kapoor called the operation a representation of “fascist America." Years ago, Kapoor sued the National Rifle Association for using a photo of "Cloud Gate" in an advertisement. He settled out of court in 2018.
Allen, who now lives in Mexico, ran away from his religious Mormon family in his home state of Utah when he was 16. He experienced homelessness and is largely a self-taught artist who told the New York Times his art “represents the experiences that I have had in my life.” He's headlined only one major American museum show, the Financial Times reported, at the Palm Springs Art Museum in 2018, and has since displayed a sculpture at Rockefeller Center and had a series installed on Park Avenue in New York City. Allen told the Times several galleries that display his work asked him not to accept the Venice Biennale commission during a Trump administration and, when he did, stopped working with him. Allen's Venice exhibit is called "Call Me the Breeze" and includes roughly 30 untitled sculptures.
The event, often called the "Olympics of Art," is a large-scale, international art exhibition first hosted in 1895 that takes place in Venice, Italy every two years. Dozens of countries each present an exhibition in their own “pavilion,” which are permanent structures located around the city. Many were built in the Giardini della Biennale, a historic park, and others are spread across palaces, warehouses and churches. Each country chooses its own artist (usually one, but sometimes a small or large group) and curator for each year. A Central Exhibition is organized by one artistic director and includes works from the different countries under a unifying theme. The event is seen as a form of cultural diplomacy and, in the art world, it usually sets trends that then ripple through museums and galleries.
The international jury of the Venice Biennale resigned Thursday, nine days before the art fair was set to open. The move came days after the judging panel said it would not award prizes to countries charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, which includes Israel and Russia. The Russian pavilion will not be open to the public this year, but its art installation will be visible through the windows. The Italian ministry of culture has been against Russian participation throughout the organizing of the event, and Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said he would personally boycott the exhibition’s previews and opening day. The Biennale's director, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, has stood by his decision to include Russia. A letter penned by the Art Not Genocide Alliance and signed by more than 200 Venice Bienalle participants demanded the cancellation of the Israeli pavilion as the country “commits genocide.” Giuli has supported Israel’s inclusion and said the Italian government is “against every form of discrimination and antisemitism in Italian cultural institutions.”
The Venice Biennale pavilions will open to the public Saturday, May 9. An awards ceremony originally scheduled for that day has been postponed due to the jury’s resignation and will now take place on November 22, the last day of the exhibition. The Biennale’s prestigious prizes include the Golden Lion, given for the best national pavilion or artist, and Silver Lion for best emerging artist.
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