The New Museum has appointed New York-based Italian curator Massimiliano Gioni as its next Toby Devan Lewis director, effective August 1. He will be the third director of the museum since its founding in 1977, succeeding Marcia Tucker and Lisa Phillips.

Born in Italy in 1973, Gioni moved to New York in 1999, where he worked as a journalist at Flash Art magazine. He joined the New Museum in 2006 as curator, r, later serving as associate director and director of exhibitions before being named artistic director in 2014.

Over the past two decades at the New Museum, Gioni has organized various group shows at the New Museum, including “After Nature” (2008), “Ostalgia” (2011), “Here and Elsewhere” (2014), and the recent “New Humans: Memories of the Future” (2026), the first presentation to take place in the museum’s OMA-designed building expansion. In 2009, together with Lauren Cornell and Laura Hoptman, he established the New Museum’s triennial, titled “The Generational Triennial: Younger Than Jesus.” He has also curated solo exhibitions for artists such as John Akomfrah, Lynda Benglis, Judy Chicago, Nicole Eisenman, Urs Fischer, Theaster Gates, Hans Haacke, Sarah Lucas, Chris Ofili, Faith Ringgold, Pipilotti Rist, Anri Sala, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. His curatorial projects abroad include “Murakami: Ego” (2012) for Takashi Murakami at the Qatar Museums, Doha.

Gioni has also directed major biennials across the globe, including Manifesta 5 (2004), the fourth Berlin Biennale (2006), the eighth Gwangju Biennale (2010), and the 55th Venice Biennale (2013).

In a statement, Gioni called the appointment “a tremendous honor,” adding, “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.”

Kalani Ko is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.