The Nasher Sculpture Center has named Jeremy Strick, the former director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, as its new director. The move comes almost two years after its original director, Steven Nash, resigned.

“Having worked with the Nasher Collection at the very outset of my career, I am especially delighted to be joining the Nasher Sculpture Center at this exciting moment in the history of this marvelous institution,”  Strick said in a news release. “No museum anywhere is better-positioned to further the understanding of, and appreciation for, modern and contemporary sculpture.”

While at L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art, Strick oversaw the launch of a satellite location, the Pacific Design Center, as well as a major increase in the number of works in the museum’s collection, which now totals 6,000 pieces. The museum’s membership also increased by more than 80 percent.

On the other hand, in November — after Strick’s appointment at the Nasher was already in the works — it was learned that MOCA was close to financial collapse. A $30 million grant from patron Eli Broad was negotiated — and part of the deal was Strick’s departure. David Haemsigger, president of the Nasher board, told the New York Times that they were not concerned about Strick’s immediate history with MOCA’s financial troubles.

Strick will begin work at the Nasher on March 2.