Following Klaudio Rodriguez’s retirement to take on the role of executive director and chief executive of the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Bronx Museum in New York is once again looking for a new director. Rodriguez’s resignation coincides with the Bronx Museum’s ongoing $33 million restoration and capital campaign, which is expected to be finished in 2026.
In 2017, Rodriguez started working at the Bronx Museum as deputy director, having been hired by Holly Block, the museum’s then-director. Two weeks after Rodriguez took office, Block, who had guided the museum through substantial expansion, passed away from breast cancer, making for a challenging start to his term. Under Block’s direction, the museum launched the AIM Biennial in 2011, did away with entry fees in 2012, and sponsored the U.S. pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale, which included artist Sarah Sze. Annual attendance increased from 25,000 to 100,000 during her leadership.
Yet there was controversy throughout Block’s tenure at the Bronx Museum. Two Cuba-related initiatives caused controversy in 2016: a $2.5 million replica of the José Julián Martí Statue in Central Park by Anna Hyatt Huntington, which was sent to Havana, and an art exchange with the El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Cuba. Frustrated by Block’s spending choices, these initiatives resulted in the departure of four trustees and two executive board members. 2018 saw the statue’s final installation in Havana. However, the planned display with the Cuban Museum never happened.
Rodriguez momentarily took over as director following the unexpected death of Block. Deborah Cullen-Morales, who was just named the museum’s new director in June 2018, was the former director of Columbia University’s Wallach Art Gallery. She only served a brief eighteen-month term. She subsequently said that her contract was only for that length of time. Ahead of the museum’s 50th anniversary in November 2020, Rodriguez took over as the temporary director once more in January 2020.
Rodriguez supervised the introduction of the museum’s massive expansion project in late 2021 while serving as director. The Marvel architecture firm’s refurbishment goal is to better incorporate the museum’s current structures into a unified complex. A three-story lobby and a new entrance at the intersection of Grand Concourse and 165th Street are notable elements that offer a more conspicuous and hospitable entry point. The addition will increase the museum’s overall functionality and provide continuous gallery space. Only the museum’s north building is still accessible to the public while work is being done.
Even with the ambitions and continuous building, Rodriguez will depart the museum before these projects are finished. Operations will be overseen by Chief Advancement Officer Yvonne Garcia and Deputy Director Shurley Solomon until a new director is named.
Rodriguez has returned to Florida, where he was raised and formerly held the position of chief curator at Florida International University’s Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum in Miami, by relocating to St. Petersburg. The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, is going through a difficult time at the time of his appointment. Following the contentious dismissal of senior curator Michael Bennett, his predecessor, Anne-Marie Russell, resigned in November 2023 after just one year in the position. Three other senior staff members resigned earlier this year, and Bennett was fired on concerns about the origin of pieces in a high-profile display of Greek antiques.
By October 2024, Klaudio Rodriguez should be in his new position. With a strong belief that the St. Petersburg Museum is ideally positioned to enhance lives via art and provide inclusive spaces for the community, he expressed excitement about returning to his home state and guiding the organization through its present issues.
