LEE MATNEY

John Lee Matney, born in Richmond, Virginia, is the owner and director of the Linda Matney Fine Art Gallery in Williamsburg, Virginia, a contemporary gallery and advisory founded in 2010. Named in honor of his mother, Linda Matney, the gallery focuses on contemporary art, curatorial research, and building relationships between artists, collectors, museums, and cultural institutions.

A photographer, curator, and advisor, Matney began his artistic career in Athens, Georgia, during a period when the city was emerging as a center for experimental music, film, and visual art. While attending the University of Georgia, he became involved with artist-run spaces and collaborated with artists, musicians, filmmakers, and scholars connected to the region’s evolving cultural scene.

In recent years, Matney has actively developed exhibitions, screenings, and research-based projects connecting contemporary art, film, photography, and Southern cultural history. This includes collaborations with Deborah Colton on projects related to Jonas Mekas, including exhibitions and screenings exploring avant-garde cinema, memory, displacement, and the moving image.