Controversy has swirled around the artist Alma Allen since he was announced as America’s representative at this year’s Venice Biennale, which opens to art professionals and press next week. The conversation has tended to highlight the compromised selection process under President Trump, with much of the scrutiny centered around the fact that a museum didn’t commission the pavilion, as is common. Instead, the commissioner this time is a newly created body called the American Arts Conservancy headed by Jenni Parido, who up until 2024 ran a boutique pet food lifestyle shop in Tampa, Florida, and entered Trump’s orbit though pet charity events held at Mar-a-Lago. After the announcement, Allen’s galleries, Olney Gleason and Mendes Wood DM dropped him, but a new, just as high-profile one, Perrotin, picked him up. Related Articles The question now is, what will the effect of the Biennale—and all its attendant drama—be on Allen’s market? “I love Alma,” Beth Rudin DeWoody, a longtime supporter, said. “I collect his work and I’m not at all happy with his controversy. I think art should just transcend all of that… [Venice] is a great opportunity for him. It’s a shame his galleries dropped …