NEW YORK, NY.- The New Museum today announced that Massimiliano Gioni has been appointed the Museum’s next Toby Devan Lewis Director effective August 1, 2026. Born in Italy in 1973, Gioni joined the New Museum in 2006 as Curator, later holding the roles of Associate Director and Director of Exhibitions before becoming Edlis Neeson Artistic Director in 2014.

New Museum Board President James-Keith Brown said, “After an extensive international search, we are thrilled to announce Massimiliano Gioni’s appointment as steward of the New Museum in its next chapter. Over the past twenty years, he played an essential role in the Museum’s evolution as a leading international destination for contemporary art through the groundbreaking exhibitions he has conceived, institutional partnerships he has built, mentorship he has provided to colleagues, and relationships he has forged across the globe. Massimiliano is a visionary curator and will make an exemplary director, embodying what this institution’s founder, Marcia Tucker, once described as ‘a truly great person with a profound curiosity about the world and the people in it, an interest that encompasses everything and everyone.’ He is an ideal leader to take the New Museum into a new era in our newly expanded campus.”

Massimiliano Gioni said, "It is a tremendous honor to be asked to lead the New Museum, following in the steps of giants like Marcia Tucker and Lisa Phillips. I am grateful to the Board of Trustees, the selection committee, and James-Keith Brown, our Board President, for entrusting me with both the illustrious legacy of the institution and the tools to shape an exciting future ahead. I think of this appointment less as a recognition of my work than a vote of confidence in our entire institution and its staff. I am grateful to the many artists, colleagues, and supporters who together have built the New Museum into the globally respected and beloved institution that we are so proud to call home."





At the New Museum, Gioni has crafted an audacious and adventurous exhibition program over two decades, curating solo exhibitions devoted to such pathbreaking artists as John Akomfrah, Pawel Althamer, Ed Atkins, Lynda Benglis, Judy Chicago, Tacita Dean, Nicole Eisenman, Urs Fischer, Theaster Gates, Hans Haacke, Camille Henrot, Carsten Höller, Kahlil Joseph, Ragnar Kjartansson, Kapwani Kiwanga, Sarah Lucas, Gustav Metzger, Marta Minujin, Chris Ofili, Raymond Pettibon, Carol Rama, Faith Ringgold, Pipilotti Rist, Anri Sala, Peter Saul, Nari Ward, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, among others. He has organized critically acclaimed thematic group exhibitions including After Nature (2008); Ostalgia (2011); Here and Elsewhere (2014); The Keeper (2016); Grief and Grievance: Art and Mourning in America (2021), an exhibition originally conceived by Okwui Enwezor and realized in collaboration with Naomi Beckwith, Glenn Ligon, and Mark Nash; and New Humans: Memories of the Future, the first exhibition to span the entirety of the New Museum’s OMA-designed building expansion. Gioni also established the New Museum Triennial as The Generational Triennial: Younger Than Jesus in 2009 with Lauren Cornell and Laura Hoptman.

Gioni has directed numerous international exhibitions and biennials including Manifesta 5 (co-curated with Marta Kuzma in 2004), the 4th Berlin Biennale (co-curated with Maurizio Cattelan and Ali Subotnick in 2006), the 8th Gwangju Biennale (2010), and the 55th Venice Biennale (2013). He has collaborated frequently with many institutions, museums, and foundations around the world, in particular: the Nicola Trussardi Foundation in Milan, where he has curated public art projects, major solo presentations, and large group shows since 2002; the Deste Foundation in Athens, where he has curated numerous exhibitions since 2003; Museo Jumex, where he curated Appearance Stripped Bare: Desire and the Object in the Work of Marcel Duchamp and Jeff Koons, Even (2019) and was part of the team that developed the initial strategic plan for the museum; the Aïshti Foundation in Beirut, where he has organized multiple shows since 2015; The Store X in London; the Long Museum in Shanghai; the Phillips Collection in Washington DC; and the Qatar Museums in Doha, where he has staged major exhibitions by Takashi Murakami (2012), Jeff Koons (2021), Valentino (2022), and Pipilotti Rist (2024). These projects have gathered significant support for the New Museum and greatly expanded its impact internationally.