The Museum of Modern Art in New York has named Christophe Cherix as its next director, succeeding Glenn Lowry, who has led the institution for three decades. The New York Times first reported the news on Friday afternoon.
Cherix begins in his new position this September. He has served as chief curator of MoMA’s prints and drawings department since 2013.
“MoMA has long been a leader in embracing new forms of expression, amplifying the voices of artists from around the globe, and engaging the broadest audiences onsite and online,” Cherix said in a statement. “As the Museum approaches its centennial, my highest priority is to support its exceptional staff and ensure that their unique ability to navigate the ever-evolving present continues to thrive.”
His curatorial credits include a range of recent retrospectives that have received widespread praise. In 2023, there was his Ed Ruscha retrospective, undertaken with Los Angeles County Museum of Art director Michael Govan, for which Cherix personally facilitated the revival of the artist’s rarely seen 1970 Chocolate Room installation, which debuted at that year’s Venice Biennale. And in 2018, there was a retrospective for Adrian Piper, co-organized with David Platzker and Connie Butler, that was briefly the largest exhibition ever mounted by the institution.
With Manuel Borja-Villel, he also organized a 2016 Marcel Broodthaers retrospective at MoMA, as well as a survey of Yoko Ono’s art of the 1960s and ’70s that he co-organized with Klaus Biesenbach.
Marie-Josée Kravis, the chair of MoMA’s board, said in a statement, “Christophe’s brilliant curatorial leadership in modern and contemporary art, deep insight and passion for MoMA’s collection, and reputation for steady stewardship stood out as indispensable qualities to meet the moment as the Museum’s next director. We are thrilled that after a rigorous global search, the Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Christophe, and that he accepted the appointment.”
Prior to taking the reins at the drawings and prints department, he led MoMA’s prints and illustrated books department. The current drawings and prints department was the result of a merger between the prints and illustrated books team and a separate drawings team.
He first joined MoMA in 2007, having previously been curator of the Cabinet des estampes at the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Geneva.
Cherix will follow the conclusion of Glenn Lowry’s longtime leadership of MoMA. Lowry announced plans to depart last year, having led the museum through two renovations and one expansion. He has directed MoMA since 1995.
When Cherix was appointed chief curator of prints and illustrated books by MoMA in 2010, Lowry called him an “outstanding curator who has demonstrated leadership in organizing exhibitions and working with MoMA’s extensive collection of prints and illustrated books.”
Cherix is now the seventh person ever to direct MoMA in its nearly 100-year history.
In a statement, Lowry said, “I have been privileged to work with Christophe for more than fifteen years at MoMA, and I am delighted that the Board has chosen him to be the next director of the Museum. In the months ahead, we will work together to ensure a smooth and successful transition. Christophe is a gifted and talented curator, and I Iook forward to seeing the Museum evolve and thrive under his able direction.”
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