Richard Koshalek has exited the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum in Washington to return to Los Angeles where he previously led the Museum of Contemporary Art through its formative years, and served as president of Pasadena's Art Center College of Design.

His resignation from the Hirshhorn, in a city he calls "conservative," came after a battle for his signature project, a 15-story inflatable building dubbed “the bubble” that the museum's board would not push through. The cost of the project catapulted to $15 million, but Koshalek saw the problem as more than money. He says the board "was going to block the future."

Koshalek says LA is a "progressive kind of environment for contemporary culture and art" and he has ideas on how to rebuild MOCA. Gallerist Jeffrey Deitch recently left the top post and the institution is in flux.

Critics say it is unlikely that Koshalek will be rehired as MOCA director, although he could be involved in some way in reviving the museum with a renewed international focus.

"Isolation breeds irrelevance," Koshalek told KPCC. "If you’re not connected to the world, and we’re not getting information from around the world about what’s happening in the art world, it’s going to be damaging to the future agenda of the institution."