From the departure of Art Basel’s global head of VIP relations to the announcement that Artnet’s Hans Neuendorf is returning, these are some of the notable changes recently announced across the arts and culture spheres.
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco names Dr. Soyoung Lee CEO
Dr. Soyoung Lee has been tapped as the next Barbara Bass Bakar Director and CEO of San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum and will take the reins in April 2025, succeeding Dr. Jay Xu, who has led the museum since 2008. Currently the Landon and Lavinia Clay Chief Curator at the Harvard Art Museums, Lee has spent the past several years refining that institution’s artistic vision, curating sharp, thoughtful exhibitions like “Future Minded: New Works in the Collection” (2024) and “Earthly Delights: 6,000 Years of Asian Ceramics” (2022). Salle Yoo, chair of the Asian Art Museum Foundation and Asian Art Commission, called Lee’s appointment “an exciting moment,” touting her “deep understanding of what is happening in Asian and Asian American art now, its connection to the past, and a bold vision of where it may lead in the future.” She is excited for the challenge, calling the role “a singular honor.”
Lee arrives with an impeccable résumé that includes fifteen years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she became the institution’s first-ever curator of Korean art, a role in which she significantly expanded its influence in the U.S. museum world. Her scholarly publications, including Diamond Mountains: Travel and Nostalgia in Korean Art (2018) and Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom (2013), further cemented her reputation as a leading voice in the field. Beyond curation and writing, she has served as a trustee of the Association of Art Museum Curators and is a visiting scholar at Stanford University. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, and having called everywhere from Seoul to Stockholm home, Lee brings a broad global perspective to the institution.
The American Folk Art Museum has promoted Emelie Gevalt to deputy director
Dr. Emelie Gevalt was promoted to deputy director and chief curatorial and program officer at the American Folk Art Museum, where she will now oversee exhibitions, collections, and educational initiatives while continuing to curate, publish scholarly work, and steer strategic acquisitions. Since arriving at AFAM in 2019, Gevalt has been a driving force in sharpening the museum’s curatorial vision and scholarly reach, and she is eager to build on that momentum. “I am delighted to expand the scope of my responsibilities,” she said in a statement, adding that she’s excited to collaborate more closely with the museum’s curatorial, collections and learning and engagement teams.
Among Gevalt’s curatorial highlights are “What That Quilt Knows About Me” (2023), an exploration of quilts as vessels of personal storytelling, and “Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North” (2023), which examined how Black individuals were represented—or omitted—from early American imagery. Jason T. Busch, AFAM’s director and CEO, credited Gevalt with helping the museum achieve “new heights in ambition, scale and academic rigor” while also expanding the museum’s network of patrons and securing significant gifts that have strengthened its collection. “Emelie has quickly earned recognition within the field as one of the leading American art curators of her generation,” Busch said, noting her ability to “advance new interpretations and perceptions in the 21st Century.”
Irene Kim is leaving Art Basel
On X, art collector Alain Servais (one of Observer’s most influential people in art in 2024) shared the news that Irene Kim, Art Basel’s global head of VIP relations, will be stepping down from her position this Friday (Jan. 24). Kim has been with the art fair since 2016, when she came on as regional head of VIP relations for the Americas; she joined the Art Basel Management Board in 2022. As the leader of a forty-person global team spanning four continents, she has been instrumental in cultivating relationships with international collectors, patrons and cultural institutions. In a letter shared by Servais, Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz wrote that Kim was “moving on to a new professional endeavor” and praised her for successfully strengthening engagement among the fair’s VIP audience.
Before joining Art Basel, Kim built an impressive career at the intersection of art, business and high-net-worth client relations. She previously served as deputy director of VIP and external relations at the Armory Show, was head of Sotheby’s Preferred in the Americas and worked as associate manager of corporate development at the Guggenheim. She also spent time in the Education Department at the Art Institute of Chicago and served as education and programs coordinator at the Gadsden Arts Center.
Mario R. Rossero was named the director of the Andy Warhol Museum
Mario R. Rossero will become director of The Andy Warhol Museum—where, fittingly, he began his career as an artist educator—and vice president of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Currently the executive director of the National Art Education Association (NAEA), Rossero has spent his career at the intersection of arts education and cultural leadership, holding top roles at the Kennedy Center, Chicago Public Schools, and Pittsburgh Public Schools. Steven Knapp, president and CEO of Carnegie Museums, called Rossero’s appointment “a full-circle moment,” emphasizing his “sincere and infectious enthusiasm for the mission of the arts” and his knack for making “innovation and creativity more accessible to all.” For Rossero, the move is a chance to shape the institution that first shaped him. “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,” he said. He officially takes the reins on March 31.
Rossero’s track record of institutional success is nothing to sneeze at, and Wanda B. Knight, NAEA president, lauded his leadership skills and vision, stating that she is “confident that he will continue to advocate for all artists, educators, and learners in the next phase of his career.” At NAEA, Rossero secured an $8.5 million U.S. Department of Education grant to revamp arts education nationwide, and at the Kennedy Center, he managed thirty-five programs that reached 1.4 million students and educators worldwide. His tenure at Chicago Public Schools was just as impactful; there, he spearheaded the district’s first-ever Arts Education Plan, affecting 700 schools and 400,000 students. At The Warhol, he aims to deepen the museum’s community engagement and creative initiatives, mainly through the Pop District, a long-term museum sustainability project.
Artnet’s Hans Neuendorf is retiring
Artnet founder Hans Neuendorf, 88, is stepping down from the company’s board, a move The Art Newspaper has dubbed a “major shakeup.” The invitation for Artnet’s annual shareholder meeting outlined a proposed supervisory board stacked with industry heavyweights, including Artnet vice president Sophie Neuendorf, ArtNova Fund founder Frédéric Jousset (another of Observer’s most influential people in art in 2024), Rüdiger Weng of Weng Fine Art AG and financiers Lawrence B. Benenson and Roy Israel. Neuendorf, the art market’s digital disruptor before “disruption” became a Silicon Valley cliché, founded Artnet in 1989 as a comprehensive online database of auction results and sales analytics that would foster transparency in the art market. Under his leadership, Artnet became the first platform to facilitate online art transactions, a concept initially met with skepticism that would ultimately revolutionized how art is bought and sold.
But Neuendorf was shaking up the industry long before the internet entered the equation. He made his first foray into the art world as a teenager, hitchhiking to Paris to buy prints by artists like Marc Chagall and Fernand Léger before flipping them in Germany. By 1964, he had established Galerie Neuendorf in Hamburg, where he played a crucial role in introducing American Pop artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein to European audiences. Under his leadership, Artnet launched its Price Database and the global art marketplace, artnet Galleries, in 1995. In 2008, the company debuted the first online auction platform exclusively for works of art, further cementing its dominance in the art trade. Neuendorf stepped down as CEO of Artnet in 2012, passing the baton to his son, Jacob Pabst.
Mari-Claudia Jiménez is leaving Sotheby’s
Puck’s Marion Maneker reports that Mari-Claudia Jiménez is leaving Sotheby’s, though the auction house has yet to announce a successor and it’s unclear what her next chapter will look like. A Fordham University Law School graduate, Jiménez made the leap from private legal practice to the high-stakes auction world in 2016, joining Sotheby’s as senior vice president and managing director of Trusts & Estates and Valuations. Her legal acumen made her an invaluable asset in high-value estate planning and art sales, and by 2021, she had ascended to chairman and head of global business development for Sotheby’s Americas. In that role, she oversaw key business strategies, cultivated high-net-worth client relationships, and played a pivotal role in major sales across North and South America.
Jiménez has long worked at the intersection of law and the global art market, supporting clients in complex transactions, restitution cases and cross-border legal issues. Before joining Sotheby’s, she was a leading attorney in art law, advising collectors, museums and other involved parties on everything from provenance disputes to estate battles. With an early background in art history, she would go on to become the foremost legal authority on art misappropriated in Cuba. She spent more than fifteen years at Herrick, Feinstein LLP, where she chaired its Art Law Group and handled high-profile restitution cases in the field of Nazi-looted art in Europe.
The Met appointed Paul Pineau as general counsel and secretary
The Metropolitan Museum of Art named Paul Pineau as its new general counsel and secretary, following what it described as an extensive national search. Pineau, most recently senior vice president and general counsel at Johns Hopkins University, will take on the role starting March 10, succeeding Sharon Cott, whose thirty-seven-year tenure at The Met has left an indelible mark on the institution. In a statement, museum director and CEO Max Hollein called Pineau’s appointment a coup for the museum, highlighting his “exemplary legal skills and expertise” as well as his “demonstrated success in providing strategic leadership and counsel amid complex challenges.” As general counsel, Pineau will oversee all legal matters for the Met while also serving as secretary to the Board of Trustees, working alongside museum leadership on governance, policy and institutional strategy.
Pineau arrives with a formidable legal and leadership résumé. At Johns Hopkins, he tackled governance issues, steered the institution through intricate capital projects, helped shape key employee initiatives and safeguarded faculty members’ intellectual property and academic freedom. Before that, he served as chief of staff in the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City. His public service commitments extend well beyond his professional titles—he has sat on the boards of several nonprofits focused on LGBTQ+ rights, education, and addiction treatment. A Harvard Law graduate, Pineau brings both institutional savvy and a passion for the arts to his new post.“I am elated to join the Met at this important time for the museum,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to collaborating with colleagues on fulfilling the museum’s mission.”
