Paola D'Agostino, Royal Museums of Turin Director - Musei Reali di Torino

Paola D'Agostino, Royal Museums of Turin Director - Musei Reali di Torino

Paola D'Agostino

Director of the Musei Reali di Torino

Photograph by Giuliano Berti 

for the Royal Museums of Turin

Courtesy Musei Reali di Torino

Royal Museums of Turin

Palazzo Reale di Torino

Photograph by Daniele Bottallo

for the Royal Museums of Turin

Courtesy Musei Reali di Torino

Palazzo Reale Galleria del Daniel

Photograph by Andrea Guermani

for the Royal Museums of Turin

Courtesy Musei Reali di Torino

Palazzo Reale Scala delle Forbici

Photograph by Dario Fusaro

for the Royal Museums of Turin

Courtesy Musei Reali di Torino

Following the completion of the appointment procedures, Dr. Paola D'Agostino took up office as Director of the Royal Museums of Turin on 1 October 2025 .

Paola D'Agostino takes over the prestigious role held by Enrica Pagella from December 1, 2015, to November 30, 2023, and, following the recognition of the Royal Museums as a first-tier state museum, by Mario Turetta, Head of the Department for Cultural Activities of the Ministry of Culture, as Deputy Director.

An art historian and specialist in Italian Renaissance and Baroque sculpture, she graduated and obtained her PhD from the University of Naples “Federico II”, with specializations at the Courtauld Institute of Art and University College London. From 2015 to 2024 she led the Bargello Museums in Florence and boasts extensive curatorial experience abroad, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as a Senior Research Associate in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, to the Yale University Art Gallery, as the Nina and Lee Griggs Assistant Curator in European Art .

In her first words as Director, Paola D'Agostino declared : “ I am very honored to begin my new role as Director of the Royal Museums of Turin, which, with their monumental heritage, extraordinary art and archaeological collections, Library, and Royal Gardens, constitute one of the most prestigious museum complexes in Italy and the world. Over the last ten years, the Royal Museums have experienced extraordinary growth, thanks to the two high-profile directors who preceded me. It is a privilege to contribute to the cultural project and to the valorization of these places and of the Savoy dynasty, which designed them, enriched them with masterpieces, and modified them over time .”

" Walking through the monumental halls of the Royal Palace ," continued Paola D'Agostino, " wandering through the spaces of the Manica Nuova with its diverse collections, stopping in the Royal Library, or strolling through the Royal Gardens gives a sense of the centrality of the Royal Museums to the city. These halls convey not only the cultural and political history of Turin and Piedmont, but also the unique history of Italy and its extraordinary cultural heritage ."

Paola D'Agostino - Biographical notes

Paola D'Agostino is an art historian specializing in Italian Renaissance and Baroque sculpture. She studied at the University of Naples Federico II, where she received a PhD in art history in 2003. She specialized in London, at the Courtauld Institute of Art (MA, 1998) and University College London (MPhil program, 1998–1999). While studying in London, she collaborated on the exhibition Earth and Fire. Italian Terracotta Sculpture from Donatello to Canova , at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2001–2002).

He taught for several years as a contract professor of modern art history at several Italian universities and held seminars at British and American universities.

From 2009 to 2013, she worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as a Senior Research Associate in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts . During her tenure at the Metropolitan Museum, she also helped organize the exhibitions Bernini: Sculpting in Clay (2012–2013) and Antonio Canova: The Seven Last Works (2013). In spring 2013, she was the Cynthia Hazen Polsky/MET Visiting Curator at the American Academy in Rome. From 2013 to 2015, she was the Nina and Lee Griggs Assistant Curator in European Art at the Yale University Art Gallery, where, among other things, she co-curated the exhibition The Critique of Reason: Romantic Art 1760–1860 .

From December 1, 2015, to January 14, 2024, she served as Director of the Bargello Museums, a museum group that includes the Bargello National Museum, the Medici Chapels Museum, the Orsanmichele Complex, the Palazzo Davanzati Museum, and the Casa Martelli Museum. During her tenure, these five museums underwent extraordinary work on their monumental buildings—among the oldest and most important in Florence—including collection reorganizations, experimental restorations, research agreements with Italian and international universities, and exhibitions, with prestigious international collaborations from the National Gallery in Washington, to the Museums of Berlin, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

During her tenure as Director of the Bargello Museums, the Bargello National Museum was awarded the 2017 medal by the President of the Italian Republic, Hon. Sergio Mattarella, for organizing the exhibition "The Factory of Beauty. The Ginori Manufactory and its People of Statues." She was responsible for organizing the Bargello Museums' exhibition " Donatello. The Renaissance," curated by Francesco Caglioti, co-organized by the Bargello Museums and the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation. The exhibition received the prestigious Apollo Award in London for best exhibition of 2022.

Since 2023, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the IMT School of Advanced Studies in Lucca.

In 2024 she collaborated on the “AD Arte Project – national platform of services for the accessibility of cultural sites”, for the General Directorate of Museums of the Ministry of Culture and from January to June 2025 she was Robert Lehman Visiting Professor at Villa I Tatti – The Harvard Center for Renaissance Studies.

On July 17, 2025, she was selected as Director of the Royal Museums of Turin, following an international competition by the Ministry of Culture for five Directors of national museums and archaeological parks.

ROYAL MUSEUMS OF TURIN

MUSEI REALI DI TORINO

Piazzetta Reale 1 – 10122 Torino – Italia

museireali.beniculturali.it

Mario R. Rossero: New Director of The Andy Warhol Museum

Mario R. Rossero

New Director of The Andy Warhol Museum

Mario R. Rossero

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh announced that Mario R. Rossero has been named the new director of The Andy Warhol Museum and vice president of Carnegie Museums. Rossero is currently executive director of the National Art Education Association (NAEA), the leading professional membership organization for visual arts, design and media arts educators. Before joining NAEA, he served as senior vice president of education for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., held a variety of leadership positions in Chicago Public Schools and served as the senior program officer for arts education at Pittsburgh Public Schools. A native of the Pittsburgh region, Mario R. Rossero began his career as an artist educator at The Warhol and an art teacher at Shaler Area School District. He will join the museum on March 31.

“This is really a full-circle moment for Mario and The Warhol, where Mario began his career just three years after the museum opened in 1994,” said Steven Knapp, president and CEO of Carnegie Museums. “While taking on increasingly complex leadership roles throughout his impressive career, Mario has maintained a sincere and infectious enthusiasm for the mission of the arts, which includes making innovation and creativity more accessible to all. In each of his roles, he has excelled as a collaborative leader and a community convener, and we’re delighted to welcome him back to Pittsburgh and The Warhol.”

While executive director of the NAEA, which has more than 15,000 members in the United States and 25+ foreign countries, Mario R. Rossero and his team won an $8.5 million U.S. Department of Education grant to transform arts education in the United States by partnering with music, dance and theater education associations to create collaborative arts learning communities across the country. In his role as senior vice president for education at the Kennedy Center, he led a team of 60 people and 35 programs that reached 1.4 million students and educators worldwide.

Mario R. Rossero joined the Kennedy Center after serving in a variety of leadership roles with Chicago Public Schools. As chief of core curriculum, he provided leadership and strategy to offer a robust education for all students, including in the fields of literacy, mathematics, science, social science, the arts and global citizenship. As director of arts education, he led the charge to increase access to all art forms, developing for the first time a district-wide Arts Education Plan that encompassed 700 schools and 400,000 students.

“I am thrilled to join The Warhol at this unique moment in time to build upon the museum’s history and look towards a future of increased community engagement and creative innovation, all rooted in Warhol’s art, life and legacy,” Mario R. Rossero said. “For me this is a homecoming, returning to an institution that played a pivotal role in my early career, shaping my approach and trajectory as an artist, educator and organizational leader. I am excited to share lessons learned from a national lens to invest in the Pittsburgh community and to leverage the opportunity that The Pop District provides for greater sustainability and furthering Warhol’s story and impact.

“The breadth of Warhol’s portfolio—as graphic designer, boundary-pushing artist, filmmaker, music producer and pop culture celebrity—paired with his personal story as a young steel city kid making his way to New York City and the international art world offers so many connections for audiences of all ages, identities and interests,” Mario R. Rossero added.

“On behalf of the NAEA Board of Directors, we congratulate Mario on his new role as the director of The Andy Warhol Museum,” said Wanda B. Knight, NAEA president. “We value his leadership, vision and commitment to the visual arts, design and media arts education community—especially during his successful tenure at NAEA. We are confident that he will continue to advocate for all artists, educators and learners in the next phase of his career.”

Mario R. Rossero received a BA in art & education from Washington and Jefferson College and an MSEd in supervision and administration in visual arts from a joint program between Bank Street College of Education and Parsons School of Design.

THE ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM

117 Sandusky Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

www.warhol.org

Lynn Gumpert, Grey Art Museum Director to Retire after a Wonderful Work

NYU’s Grey Art Museum Director Lynn Gumpert to Retire

LYNN GUMPERT in the Grey Art Museum’s new galleries 

at 18 Cooper Square for the exhibition 

Americans in Paris: 

Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962 

Photo: Tracey Friedman / NYU

Lynn Gumpert, who has served as director of New York University’s Grey Art Museum since 1997, will retire in mid-April 2025. During her tenure, the museum (formerly the Grey Art Gallery) has presented more than 80 exhibitions focused on a wide range of topics, from abstract art from the Arab world to downtown galleries in New York City, expanded its collection, and moved to a larger and more accessible location at 18 Cooper Square.

As museum director, curator, administrator, and art historian, Lynn Gumpert raised the profile of the Grey by presenting ambitious exhibitions and engaging with faculty and students from across the university. Thanks to a significant gift from donors Dr. James Cottrell and Joseph Lovett, the Grey Art Museum will open the Cottrell-Lovett Study Center, a research space for scholars of all levels that offers access to the museum’s permanent collection of American, modern Asian, and Middle Eastern art.

NYU President Linda G. Mills said, “The Grey has an impact on New York’s cultural life that has far exceeded its size, with wonderful, carefully curated shows that have delighted art lovers and contributed to Greenwich Village’s—and NYU’s—reputation as a center for the arts.  For more than 25 years, Lynn Gumpert has been the Grey’s steward, as well as an exceptional colleague, a curator of groundbreaking exhibitions, and a guardian of the NYU Art Collection. We thank her, and wish her well.”

Provost Gigi Dopico added: “The scholarship that the Grey has generated over nearly half a century is remarkable. With landmark exhibitions, from The Downtown Show in 2006 to Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Highlights from NYU’s Abby Weed Grey Collection in 2019, the Grey exemplifies New York University’s commitment to innovative ways of looking at art.”

Exhibition highlights organized during Lynn Gumpert’s tenure include Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s, Inventing Downtown: Artist-Run-Galleries in New York City, 1952–1965, and Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France,1946–1962, the critically-acclaimed exhibition that inaugurated the museum’s new location earlier last year.

The Grey Art Museum has also contributed to New York City’s cultural scene by hosting shows that otherwise would not have traveled here. They include The Beautiful Brain: The Drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal; Art after Stonewall, 1969–1989; Diane Arbus: Family Albums; and Maya Lin: Topologies.

Lynn Gumpert is co-curator of Make Way for Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-Garde, organized with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Musée de l’Orangerie. It opened at the Grey on October 1, 2024 and is accompanied by a book, Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-Garde (Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris/Flammarion). Lynn Gumpert also edited Pow! Right in the Eye, Weill’s 1933 memoir (University of Chicago Press, 2022), and co-edited Americans in Paris (Grey Art Museum, NYU/Hirmer, 2022).

“It’s been an enormous honor and privilege to lead the Grey Art Museum for more than 28 years. Our holdings of modern Iranian, Turkish, and Indian art donated by our founder Abby Weed Grey in 1975 align wonderfully with New York University’s global vision. Likewise, our exceptional holdings of downtown New York School artworks through the 1990s complements NYU’s Special Collections at Bobst Library,” says Lynn Gumpert. “And, with our recent move from Washington Square East to 18 Cooper Square, our renovated facilities are now much more welcoming.”

Prior to joining NYU, Lynn Gumpert served as curator and senior curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art from 1980–88 and was a consulting curator for The Gallery at Takashimaya from 1992–95. She wrote the first substantial monograph on French artist Christian Boltanski (Flammarion, 1992; 1994), and in 1999, she was honored by the French government with the distinction of the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Lynn Gumpert earned a BA from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MA in art history from the University of Michigan. A member of the Association of Art Museum Directors, she has served on various boards, including the Hauser & Wirth Institute.

Deputy Director Michèle Wong will be interim director.

GREY ART MUSEUM, New York University 

18 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003

greyartmuseum.nyu.edu

Kiira Miesmaa: New director of Kiasma, Helsinki, Museum of Contemporary Art

Kiira Miesmaa has been chosen as the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma

Photo: Finnish National Gallery/ Susanna Kesänen

The board of the Finnish National Gallery has selected KIIRA MIESMAA as the next director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma for a five-year term starting from June 1, 2024.

Kiira Miesmaa has worked in leadership positions in various organizations in the art sector, both in the public and private sectors. At Galerie Forsblom, she has been responsible for the operational management of the gallery. While the gallery operated in Stockholm, she handled the strategic management of both galleries in collaboration with the gallery owner. Miesmaa has consistently contributed to the internationalization of Finnish art, with the gallery participating in contemporary art fairs worldwide. She has been a member of the HIAP board since 2019.

“Kiira Miesmaa has excellent qualifications to lead Kiasma and the Finnish National Gallery forward in the next five-year period. Miesmaa’s expertise complements the Finnish National Gallery’s management team in a positive way,” says the chairman of the board Matti Vanhanen.

The Finnish National Gallery initiated the search for directors for Ateneum and Kiasma simultaneously in June 2023. Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff was selected as the director of Ateneum in early November, commencing her duties on January 1, 2024. Both museum directors are part of the National Gallery’s management team and collaborate with the CEO and other department heads to develop the National Gallery’s activities.

Miesmaa will succeed the current director of Kiasma, Leevi Haapala, whose second term in office concludes on May 31, 2024.

“Haapala has done excellent work as the director of Kiasma. He has navigated Kiasma through a challenging period with the pandemic and a major renovation. During his tenure, Kiasma has hosted, among other things, two major international ARS exhibitions and exhibitions of significant Finnish artists such as Markus Copper and Tom of Finland, not to mention numerous international names,” acknowledges Kimmo Levä, the General Director of the National Gallery.

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma

Mannerheiminaukio 2, 00100 Helsinki

www.kiasma.fi

Matthew McLendon: Director of the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas

Matthew McLendon: 

Director of the McNay Art Museum, 

San Antonio, Texas

Matthew McLendon

Photo Credit: Daniel Perales

McLendon to Lead the First Modern Art Museum in Texas Beginning February 13, 2023

The McNay Art Museum’s Board of Trustees has confirmed the appointment of Matthew McLendon, PhD, to serve as the museum’s fourth director in its 68-year history. McLendon comes to the McNay from The Fralin Museum of Art at The University of Virginia (UVA), where he served as the J. Sanford Miller Family Director and Chief Curator since 2017.

“Matthew’s dynamic experience as an art historian, museum director and curator will strengthen the McNay Art Museum’s position as a global destination for modern and contemporary art,” said Don Frost, President of the Board of Trustees. “We are confident that his expertise and strong commitment to civic engagement will advance the Museum’s vision of becoming a place of belonging for our diverse community.”

An energetic and influential leader, McLendon is widely recognized for his emphasis on community engagement and education, advocacy of cross-disciplinary programming and amplifying underrepresented and marginalized voices in the museum setting. At The Fralin, McLendon focused on invigorating the museum within the University and its wider constituencies. Museum attendance and major support increased and diversified dramatically during his tenure, along with the launch of new public programs, including Greenbrier Global Artists, an after-school program serving the children of asylum seekers.

“Under Matthew’s leadership, the Fralin Museum of Art has made tremendous strides in facilitating important conversations through the Museum’s collection and exhibitions,” said UVA Vice Provost for the Arts, Jody Kielbasa. “As director and chief curator, Matthew was devoted to sharing inclusive stories in the galleries, expanding the collection, bolstering audience engagement and garnering national media attention for the institution. His work and collaborative spirit left an indelible mark on the Fralin Museum of Art, the University of Virginia and our community of Charlottesville, and will benefit the Museum’s visitors and the UVA community for many years to come.”

Nationally-recognized exhibitions during McLendon’s tenure include a multi-sensory installation by Vanessa German, sometimes.we.cannot.be.with.our.bodies.; Unexpected O’Keeffe: The Virginia Watercolors and Later Paintings, an exhibition focusing on the critical yet little-known period that Georgia O’Keeffe spent as a student at UVA; and Skyscraper Gothic, investigating the European foundations of the fundamentally American skyscraper and its place in early 20th century material culture.

The Fralin also expanded its Native American collections under McLendon’s leadership, acquiring works by contemporary Native American artists including Wendy Red Star, Cara Romero, Rick Bartow and others. Earlier this year, the Museum was awarded a $250,000 American Art Program Responsive Grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to support new research and interpretation of the Native American collection through engagement with Native scholars, artists and knowledge holders.

As an advocate for emerging and mid-career artists in the museum setting, McLendon has worked with a host of significant voices in contemporary art in both thematic and solo exhibitions, among them: Vanessa German, R. Luke DuBois, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Beth Lipman, Sofía Maldonado-Suárez, Nick Cave, Sanford Biggers, Toni Dove, Mickalene Thomas, Zimoun, Anne Patterson, Emily Noelle Lambert, Aurora Robson, Jill Sigman, Mac Premo, Daniel Rozin, Alyce Santoro, Gajin Fujita, and more.

“The McNay Art Museum’s commitment to integrity, innovation, excellence and equity aligns with the work that has anchored my career,” said McLendon. “It is an honor to follow Richard Aste, and I eagerly anticipate furthering the institution’s mission to provide transformational experiences to the San Antonio community through a growing collection and thought-provoking exhibitions.”

McLendon will assume leadership duties at the McNay on February 13, 2023. Last summer, current director Richard Aste announced his plan to move to California in early 2023. Aste will remain in his role through February 10, 2023, ensuring a seamless transition in leadership for the Museum.

A Search Committee appointed by the McNay Board of Trustees–and led by Committee Co-Chairs Amy Stieren and Darryl Byrd–identified McLendon as the ideal candidate to serve as the next McNay Director.

“Matthew stood out from numerous, highly-qualified candidates as someone with a unique combination of business acumen, arts expertise, infectious positive energy and a true love for the integral role art museums play in the communities they serve,” said Darryl Byrd, McNay Board Member and Co-Chair of the Search Committee.

“We are thrilled to welcome Matthew and his innovative ‘leader as facilitator’ approach to the McNay and its talented staff as we collectively build upon the Museum’s legacy of excellence together,” said Amy Stieren, McNay Vice President and Co-Chair of the Search Committee.

ABOUT MATTHEW McLENDON, PhD

Before going to The Fralin, McLendon was recruited in 2010 by The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the State Art Museum of Florida, as curator of modern and contemporary art and charged with reviving its dormant Modern and Contemporary program. In a museum then best known for its European paintings, McLendon undertook a series of high-profile exhibitions featuring rarely-seen works from The Ringling permanent collection. In 2011, Joseph’s Coat, a Skyspace by artist James Turrell, was opened under McLendon’s leadership and his original exhibitions began building larger regional and national audiences.

McLendon inaugurated and co-directed the Art of Our Time initiative, focused on living visual and performing artists. This cross-disciplinary programming series helped lead the way in The Ringling setting new records in attendance, membership, and support. Other high profile major exhibitions included the first museum survey of artist, composer, and performer R. Luke DuBois and an examination of living artists working with found objects (in the tradition of Marcel Duchamp) in Re:Purposed. McLendon concluded his time at The Ringling with the first museum survey of interactive cinema and live-mix performance pioneer Toni Dove. Major gifts to the permanent collection in support of the Modern and Contemporary program included substantial additions to The Ringling’s holdings; a new collecting emphasis on studio glass with major collection gifts; and two permanent additions to exhibition space, the Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion and the Keith D. and Linda L. Monda Gallery of Contemporary Art.

His books and publications include: Toni Dove: Embodied Machines (Scala); EMIT: What the Bringback Brought (Ringling/Murphy); Re:Purposed (Scala); R. Luke DuBois—Now (Scala); Dana Hargrove: Inhabit (Bridgette Mayer Gallery, contributing writer); Back to the Futurists: The Avant Garde and Its Legacy (Manchester University Press, contributing writer); Jill Sigman: Ten Huts (Wesleyan University Press, contributing writer), among others.

McLendon previously served in curatorial and educational positions at the Rollins Museum of Art and Tate Britain, London. He has served as teaching faculty for graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Virginia, Florida State University, New College of Florida, and Rollins College, in addition to frequent guest lectures, interviews and media appearances. He earned his MA and PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art of the University of London. He earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music and Art History at Florida State University, with magna cum laude honors. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Association of Art Museum Directors, American Alliance of Museums, and College Art Association among other professional organizations.

McNay Art Museum

6000 N New Braunfels Ave., San Antonio, TX 78209

www.mcnayart.org