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*