Jeffrey Deitch named director of MOCA

UPDATE: Jerry Saltz reports on his facebook account that “LA MoCA just announced that Jeffrey Deitch is their new Director. He begins June 1. He will soon close his gallery.” So I guess that answers that question. No more Deitch Projects.

As anticipated, The LA Times reports that Jeffrey Deitch has been named as the new director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA. The nomination is a controversial one primarily because Deitch’s background is as a commercial art dealer, while traditionally the post would be filled by somebody who has worked in museums for most of their career. Also, there is the question of what will happen to Deitch’s gallery, Deitch Projects, and what role he will play in the gallery’s future.

I for one am ecstatic about this news. Deitch has been associated with many great street artists like Shepard Fairey, Keith Haring and Barry McGee, so perhaps this new position will allow Deitch to bring some of those artists into MOCA’s collection.

So, congratulations to Jeffrey Deitch on this new job. I hope that he is able to breath a new life into MOCA and bring it back from the edge of bankruptcy (okay, to be fair it was in 2008 that the museum was almost bankrupt, but it certainly isn’t in a strong position today).