Klaus Biesenbach to Lead Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in March 2019

Klaus Biesenbach will become director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in March 2019, departing from his positions at MoMA PS1 and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He succeeds Philippe Vergne, whose tenure followed Jeffrey Deitch's controversial leadership ending in 2013. The institution has faced recent turmoil, including Vergne's unexplained dismissal of chief curator Helen Molesworth in March, which drew significant criticism. Biesenbach's curatorial career includes founding the Kunst-Werke (KW) Institute of Contemporary Art in Berlin before joining PS1 as a curator in 1995. His New York programming featured exhibitions by Carolee Schneemann, Cathy Wilkes, Naeem Mohaiemen, Tomáš Rafa, and Ian Cheng in 2017, helping restore his reputation after a poorly received 2015 Björk show at MoMA. Biesenbach's approach has blended established influential artists with emerging talents.