After days of rumors and speculation, former New York gallery owner Jeffrey Deitch officially stepped down from his post as Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art director on Wednesday.
The move was no surprise, since earlier this week, before MOCA’s board of trustees met, it had been reported that Dietch would announce his resignation during the meeting. He had taken the role in 2010, signing a five-year contract.
According to Bloomberg, MOCA issued a statement late Wednesday, confirming that Deitch will stay on “to ensure a smooth transition and the successful completion of MOCA’s $100 million endowment campaign, expected to close this fall.”
During his tenure, MOCA dealt with a financial crisis and even rumors that it would merge with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. However, the museum decided against that option in March.
The Los Angeles Times’ editorial from Thursday noted that Deitch was an unusual choice, since he was not a scholar and he rarely put together successful exhibitions for the museum. A replacement will have to be able to coax more wealthy donors to help the museum, since it can’t exist without private donations.