This is part of the Biennial Artist Project, a series on the stars of the biennial circuit. You can also read profiles of the top 23 artists, our critic’s take on the list, and a report on the economics of being a biennial star. The full list of biennial artists is available to Artnet News Pro members.
Our examination of which artists have appeared in the most biennials over the past five years reveals that these international exhibitions constitute their own unique art world, largely distinct from the concerns of the art market and even museums.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, these artists are often represented not by mega-galleries, but by smaller, less brand-name dealers with more geographic diversity than one might typically associate with the megawatt contemporary art market.
There are more galleries on this list with locations in Paris than in New York. Others are headquartered in cities as far-flung as Modica, Sicily; Reykjavik, Iceland; and Zuoz, Switzerland. (One of the most exhibited biennial artists—the collective Forensic Architecture—does not work formally with any gallery at all.)
Our analysis of which dealers represent the top 30 biennial artists amounts to a very unexpected kind of power list. Mega-galleries Pace, David Zwirner, and Gagosian are entirely absent. Instead, the top dealers are Mor Charpentier, König Galerie, and Tanya Bonakdar. To be fair, these galleries are hardly small outfits, with multiple locations and frequent appearances at fairs like Art Basel and Frieze. But they are also not highly corporate operations with hundreds of staff members.
See the full list of galleries that represent the top 30 biennial artists below. (Galleries that represent multiple artists are listed first. A star after an artist’s name indicates that the artist is not represented by any other gallery.)
Mor Charpentier, Paris/Bogotá
Uriel Orlow
Lawrence Abu Hamdan
Kader Attia
Marwa Arsanios*
König Galerie, Berlin
Chiharu Shiota
Monira Al Qadiri*
Alicja Kwade
Tanya Bonakdar, New York/Los Angeles
Shilpa Gupta
Mark Dion
Tomás Saraceno
Neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Shilpa Gupta
Tomás Saraceno
Clearing, New York/Brussels
Korakrit Arunanondchai
Marguerite Humeau
Kukje Gallery, Seoul
Korakrit Arunanondchai
Superflex
Lehmann Maupin, Worldwide
Cecilia Vicuña*
Kader Attia
Galleria Continua, Worldwide
Shilpa Gupta
Kader Attia
Nome, Berlin
Cian Dayrit*
James Bridle*
Carlos Ishikawa, London
Korakrit Arunanondchai
Bangkok Citycity Gallery, Bangkok
Korakrit Arunanondchai
LaVeronica, Modica
Uriel Orlow
Sfeir Semler, Beirut
Lawrence Abu Hamdan
Maureen Paley, London
Lawrence Abu Hamdan
Kiang Malingue, Hong Kong
Zheng Bo*
Goodman Gallery, London/Johannesburg/Cape Town
Tabita Rezaire*
Galleri Nils Stærk, Copenhagen
Superflex
OMR, Mexico City
Superflex
Von Bartha, Basel
Superflex
1301PE, Los Angeles
Superflex
White Cube, London/Hong Kong
Marguerite Humeau
Galerie Templon, Paris
Chiharu Shiota
Kenji Taki Gallery, Tokyo
Chiharu Shiota
Lisson Gallery, Worldwide
Laure Prouvost
Carlier Gebauer, Berlin
Laure Prouvost
Narrative Projects, London
Taus Makhacheva*
James Cohan, New York
Tuan Andrew Nguyen*
Nagel Draxler, Cologne/Berlin/Munich
Kader Attia
Regen Projects, Los Angeles
Kader Attia
Krinzinger, Vienna
Kader Attia
ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai
Robert Zhao Renhui
Mizuma Art Gallery, Singapore
Robert Zhao Renhui
Frith Street Gallery, London
Shilpa Gupta
Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai
Shilpa Gupta
Galerie Lelong, New York
Estate of Ana Mendieta
Galerie Lelong, Paris
Estate of Ana Mendieta
Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan
Estate of Ana Mendieta
Alison Jacques Gallery, London
Estate of Ana Mendieta
Nogueras Blanchard, Madrid
Estate of Ana Mendieta
Pilot Gallery, Istanbul
Halil Altındere*
Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin
Hannah Black
Arcadia Missa, London
Hannah Black
Emalin, London
Augustas Serapinas
Apalazzo, Brescia
Augustas Serapinas
Tschudi, Zuoz
Augustas Serapinas
Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London/Los Angeles
Cao Fei
Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou/Beijing
Cao Fei
Pilar Corrias, London
Ian Cheng
Gladstone Gallery, New York/Brussels/Seoul
Ian Cheng
Marian Goodman, New York/Paris
Pierre Huyghe
Hauser and Wirth, Worldwide
Pierre Huyghe
Esther Schipper, Berlin
Pierre Huyghe
Chantal Crousel, Paris
Pierre Huyghe
Taro Nasu, Tokyo
Pierre Huyghe
Mother’s Tankstation, Dublin/London
Yuko Mohri
Project Fulfill Art Space, Taipei
Yuko Mohri
Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai
Shezad Dawood
Barakat Contemporary, Seoul
Shezad Dawood
303 Gallery, New York
Alicja Kwade
Kamel Mennour, Paris
Alicja Kwade
i8, Reykjavik
Alicja Kwade
In Situ, Paris
Mark Dion
George Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
Mark Dion
Project 88, Mumbai
Munem Wasif*
Pinksummer Contemporary Art, Genoa
Tomas Saraceno
Jane Lombard Gallery, New York
Sawangwongse Yawnghwe
TKG+, Taipei
Sawangwongse Yawnghwe
Galleria Umberto Di Marino, Naples
Pedro Neves Marques*