Anish Kapoor critiques U.S. presence at the Venice Biennale
Anish Kapoor urged for the exclusion of the United States from the Venice Biennale due to what he described as the nation's hateful politics and military aggression.
The statement follows the recent resignation of the event's international jury in protest against the participation of Israel and Russia.
The five-member jury stepped down just days before the exhibition's opening, a move that has delayed the awarding of prizes until November 2026. Kapoor, who represented Britain at the event in 1990, praised the jurors' actions but argued their reasoning was incomplete.
In a statement to The Guardian Kapoor said: "I would hope that they might have also excluded the United States for its abhorrent politics of hate and its incessant warmongering."