(Miami Beach, FL –JUNE 8, 2026) — The Bass Museum of Art announces today the appointment of Philippe Vergne as Artistic Director and Chief Curator. Vergne joins The Bass on October 1, 2026.

In this newly created position, Vergne will oversee The Bass’ artistic direction, exhibitions, and public programming, with a focus on expanding the museum’s curatorial scope and strengthening its relationships with artists and partner institutions internationally.

“Philippe Vergne brings a remarkable depth of curatorial experience and a global perspective to The Bass at a pivotal moment in Miami Beach’s growth as a dynamic and complex city” said Silvia Karman Cubiñá. “His appointment signals an ambitious new chapter for The Bass, and I am delighted to work with him to shape the future direction of our exhibitions, artist commissions, and public art.”

Born in Troyes, France in 1966, Vergne earned a BA in Law from Panthéon-Assas University in 1988 before pursuing Archaeology and the History of Modern Art at Paris-Sorbonne University, where he received a BA, followed by an MA in 1991 and a MAS in 1992. Vergne brings extensive international institutional experience to the role, most recently serving as Director of the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto (2019-present). He previously served as Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (2014-2019), Director of the Dia Art Foundation in New York (2008-2014), Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (1997-2008), and Director of the Musée d’Art Contemporain in Marseille (1992-1997).

Vergne also curated and co-curated a number of landmark exhibitions throughout his career, including the 2006 Whitney Biennial with Chrissie Iles, as well as Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor and My Love, Yves Klein: With the void full power and How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age at the Walker Art Center – exhibitions widely recognized for advancing critical conversations around global contemporary art and institutional practice. He also curated Carl Andre: Sculpture as Place, 1958-2010, the first major retrospective of the artist’s work in the United States since the 1970s, which opened at Dia:Beacon on May 5, 2014 before embarking on an international tour. Under his leadership MOCA hosted Mike Kelley, the largest retrospective of the artist’s work to date, presented at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in 2013 and curated by Ann Goldstein.

Most recently he has oversaw the opening of the Serralves’s expansion (2024) and has curated, among others,  Maurizio Cattelan’s Sussurro, Allora & Calzadilla’s Entelechy, Mark Bradford’s Agora, Ai Weiwei’s Intertwined, Yoko Ono’s The Learning Gardon of Freedom,  Korakrit Arunanondchai’s No history in a roomfilled with people with funny names, Rui Chafes’s Chegar Sem Partir, and the upcoming Jenny Holzer survey Wrong Answers.

Vergne was awarded the prestigious Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 2014 and Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2004 in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the fields of art and literature.

Vergne’s appointment will coincide with The Bass’ planned expansion, led by the Los Angeles–based architectural firm Johnston Marklee, which is set to be completed in 2027. The project will advance the campus’s vision of seamlessly connecting architecture, landscape, and contemporary art, marking a new chapter for The Bass.

“I am honored to join The Bass’ team. I am very impressed with the consistent and deliberate work that Silvia Cubiñá has done over the years to create an institution deeply committed to artists across cultures and disciplines and to the transformative potential of contemporary art and ideas,” said Philippe Vergne. “I look forward to discovering the museum more fully, to engaging with the local community, and to playing a role in The Bass’ future.”

[Photo credit: Photography by Joaquim Norte de Sousa.]