MOMA NAMES THOMAS J. LAX CURATOR OF MEDIA AND PERFORMANCE ART
Thomas J. Lax has been appointed curator of media and performance at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he has been an associate curator since 2014.
At MoMA, Lax has organized or co-organized exhibitions such as “Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done” (2018), “Unfinished Conversations: New Work from the Collection” (2017), “Maria Hassabi: PLASTIC” (2016), and “Greater New York” (2015), and has spearheaded the acquisition of works by John Akomfrah, Merce Cunningham, David Hartt, Arthur Jafa, Steffani Jemison, Sondra Perry, Adrian Piper, and Kara Walker, among others. He is currently working on the complete rehang of MoMA’s collection. The museum will close this summer to complete a $400 million overhaul of its building and will reopen in October.
Prior to joining MoMA, Lax worked at the Studio Museum in Harlem for seven years. MoMA announced last month that it will enter a multiyear partnership with the Studio Museum. As construction of its new home on West 125th Street continues, the Studio Museum will stage exhibitions and other programming at both MoMA and MoMA PS1 in Long Island City.
“At a time of significant and exciting change for MoMA, Thomas has swiftly evolved into an inspiring and transformational colleague,” said Stuart Comer, MoMA’s chief curator of media and performance. “His projects and acquisitions have helped to shift established narratives with rigor, nuance, and vivid thinking.”
Lax said of his appointment: “I am thrilled to be named curator at this vital moment, when MoMA is asking renewed questions about how art matters in the world and in our everyday lives. I look forward to working closely with artists, collaborating with museum colleagues, and contributing to a history of modern and contemporary art animated by black feminist thought.”
