LONDON.- Vicente Todolí announced today that he has decided to leave London after seven years as Director of Tate Modern.

Vicente Todolí said: "In my earlier career I worked for seven years in Valencia and further seven years in Porto. It was always my intention to take a pause at that point, but the opportunity to work in London was so compelling that I came directly in 2003. Now I feel that the time has arrived to take that pause, though I look forward to working with Tate Modern on future projects, including a major exhibition for 2011 which will be announced this autumn."

Nicholas Serota said: "Vicente has made an enormous contribution to the success of Tate Modern during his period in London. His distinctive vision has shaped the display of the Collection, while a series of exhibitions has redefined early modernism, including Kandinsky (2005), Albers and Moholy-Nagy: From the Bauhaus to the New World (2006), Dali and Film (2007), Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia (2008), Rodchenko & Popova (2009) and the current Van Doesburg and the International Avant-Garde: Constructing a New World. The tenth anniversary of Tate Modern in May will be a celebration of his achievement.”