Odisha-based acclaimed sculptor Adwaita Gadanayak is likely to be the new director of National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and replace Rajeev Lochan who retired two months ago amid allegations of irregularities.
"Gadanayak will be the new director of NGMA. An official announcement regarding this would be made soon," a source said.
Lochan had retired on June 30 after being at the helm of affairs for over a decade and a half at the government-run NGMA.
However, a day before his last day in the office, a plea was moved in the Delhi High Court, seeking direction to the Centre to investigate the irregularities allegedly caused by the officers of the NGMA.
The petitioner had claimed that even after the findings of an audit, the Ministry of Culture and the NGMA had not taken any action in respect of the irregularities pointed out by the Auditor General.
Currently, Gadanayak is serving as the director of the Bhubaneshwar-based KIIT School of Fine Art. He is a product of Slade School of Fine Art, London.
The NGMA is the premier art gallery under the Ministry of Culture. The main museum at Jaipur House was established on March 29, 1954, with subsequent branches at Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Its collection of more than 14,000 items includes works by renowned artists including Rabindranath Tagore.
Some of the oldest works preserved here date back to 1857. The Delhi branch is one of the world's largest modern art museums.
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