After six years at the helm of Art Basel’s operations in the Americas, Noah Horowitz will step down from his director role at the end of August, just five months before the fair’s marquee U.S. event in Miami Beach is set to open after canceling its 2020 edition because of the pandemic. The news was first reported by Artnet News.
In a statement, the fair said that Horowitz would be leaving the fair “to pursue other opportunities” and that it would immediately begin searching for his replacement. The statement continued, “We will work closely with Noah to ensure a smooth transition and handover of responsibilities, in particular around the staging of Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2021.”
Horowitz joined Art Basel as its Director Americas in 2015 after serving as director of the Armory Show in New York, beginning in 2012. Prior to that he served as the first director of the VIP, an online art fair that launched in 2010 but only hosted two editions. He also published in 2011 Art of the Deal: Contemporary Art in a Global Financial Market, which explored how the art market operates.
During his tenure at Art Basel, Horowitz was responsible for the fair’s continued prominence within the U.S. art market and helped oversee the fair’s launch of its online viewing rooms last year in the midst of the pandemic. The news comes a day after Art Basel said it would adjust the dates of the Miami Beach fair later this year. That fair will now run from November 30 to December 4.
In a statement, Art Basel’s global director Marc Spiegler said, “We are deeply grateful to Noah for his tremendous contribution in the six years that he has worked with Art Basel. His many achievements include the ever-growing renown of Art Basel Miami Beach, the establishment of our presence in New York, the launch of the Art Market report and most recently the spearheading of our digital efforts.”