L.A. NATIVE TO TAKE OVER AT MOCA.

Byline: Daily News

The Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Los Angeles on Monday named Jeremy Strick, curator of 20th-century painting and sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago, as its new director.

Strick will succeed Richard Koshalek, who during his 15-year tenure built the museum into one of the nation's largest showcases of contemporary art.

``Richard Koshalek has done a phenomenal job and we are sad to see him leave,'' said Audrey Irmas, chairwoman of MOCA's board of trustees. ``He built a great museum in a great city. Fortunately with Jeremy Strick, we have found someone who possesses similar skills, with an energy level and enthusiasm that will take MOCA into the 21st century.''

Strick, 43, is a Los Angeles native who has been curator of modern art at the St. Louis Museum of Art and associate curator of 20th-century art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Strick, who will begin work July 1, will be MOCA's third director. Pontus Hulten, the founding director, resigned in 1983. Koshalek, who joined MOCA in 1980 as deputy director and chief curator, succeeded Hulten that year.

David Laventhol, who headed the search committee, said Strick was the committee's unanimous choice following a yearlong global search.

Strick's appointment follows the recent completion of a $25 million capital campaign that will bring MOCA's endowment to $50 million.