News The sculptor told the Financial Times that “this was not the moment” to represent the nation at the Venice Biennale. April 21, 2026 — 2 min read Barbara Chase-Riboud (photo Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) The fog surrounding the United States’s controversial pavilion exhibition at the 61st Venice Biennale has yet to lift as the international event inches closer, but one artist who was asked to represent the US has spoken out about her decision to decline the opportunity. In a statement, artist and author Barbara Chase-Riboud told the Financial Times that it was “not the moment.” The American-French sculptor whose dichotomous sculpture practice was recently celebrated in an exhibition across eight Parisian museums , was among the initial artists fielded by the recently formed American Arts Conservancy (AAC) to represent the US for the 2026 Biennale.…