The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth announced Thursday that Chief Curator Michael Auping will retire after more than 20 years in the position.
"We are grateful to Michael for his enormous contributions to this organization, the Fort Worth arts community, and the art world over the past 24 years," museum director Marla Price said in a statement. "His scholarship has elevated the Modern to international status among modern and contemporary art institutions. We thank him for his dedication, and applaud the legacy he leaves."
In his absence, Senior Curator Andrea Karnes will manage the museum's curatorial department.
Auping is currently writing two books: one on The Modern's building designed architect Tadao Ando, and another on his career, titled Forty Years: Just Talking about Art. Both are expected to be released in December.
Auping joined The Modern in 1993. Under his leadership, the museum showcased notable exhibits such as Arshile Gorky: The Breakthrough Years, Vernon Fisher: K-Mart Conceptualism, and Frank Stella: A Retrospective (coorganized with the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York). Auping also helped The Modern gain acquisitions such as Richard Serra's Vortex, 2002 (given in Auping's honor); Martin Puryear's Ladder for Booker T. Washington, 1996; and others. Additionally, he served on the management team for the building of The Modern's Ando facility, completed in 2002.
