MOCA’s French twist

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The new chief of MOCA

His name is Philippe Vergne, and it’s official: He’s MOCA’s new director. He’ll come to Los Angeles from New York, more specifically, the innovative DIA Art Foundation. (Same old stomping grounds as LACMA’s director, Michael Govan.)

The French-born Vergne was the choice of the search committee charged with replacing the embattled Jeffrey Deitch. Among those selecting Vergne were four prominent artists who stepped down from MOCA’s board during Deitch’s tenure.

What does this bit of peace-making potentially mean for MOCA? We talked to arts reporter Jori Finkel, a contributor to the NY Times, who, with a colleague, broke the story last night. (Note: Vergne is half of a power-art couple; his wife is curator Sylvia Chivaratanond, whose family lives here in LA.)