Beverly Buchanan’s Anti-Monuments at Venice Biennale and Beyond

Beverly Buchanan (1940–2015), a Black, queer, self-taught artist from the American South, created outdoor sculptures that function as anti-monuments, quietly marking forgotten histories. Her work is featured in the 61st Venice Biennale (9 May – 22 November 2026) in the exhibition 'In Minor Keys,' alongside a touring retrospective 'Weathering' at Frac Lorraine, Metz (through 26 August), Spike Island, Bristol (26 September – 10 January), and a solo show at MoMA, New York (until 8 May). Buchanan’s outdoor works, such as 'Marsh Ruins' (1981) in Georgia and 'Unity Stones' (1983) in Macon, use tabby and concrete to evoke ruins that erode over time, engaging with layers of landscape and history. She also created shack-inspired sculptures, drawings, and paintings, documenting vernacular architecture of Black tenant farmers. Her work challenges monumentalizing tendencies and embraces impermanence as a form of repair.