According to an unnamed MOCA trustee, Jeffrey Deitch, the current director of L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art and former director of Deitch Projects has announced his expected departure from the museum. As he explained to museum board members, “It’s not you, it’s me.”
The art dealer/curator had assumed the position as museum director three years ago (with a five-year contract) after leaving his successful gallery in New York City. Deitch’s attempt to go from running a private gallery to running a non-profit museum (and corporate fundraising machine) whose financial sources had already began to slip away at an alarming rate was a tall order to say the least.
Despite losing many of its highest-profile board members such as Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, and Catherine Opie, the museum has had a record number of visitors since Deitch joined the team, mostly due to a highlt hyped and criticized graffiti-themed exhibition.
As the Los Angeles Times declared so eloquently this morning, “The imminent departure of Jeffrey Deitch from the directorship of the Museum of Contemporary Art after three short years was never really a question of ‘if’ but only ‘when.'”
The museum is expected the make an official statement reagrding Deitch’s departure sometime today.
KING JEFFREY STEPPING DOWN FROM THE IRON THRONE @MOCAlosangeles RETURNING TO NYC TO START A NEW EMPIRE pic.twitter.com/KkQRGo3HT8
— MANNY4☹4 (@artnotfound) July 23, 2013
