FOR/REAL: Martin Johnson and Valerie Hardy
An Exhibition at Matney Gallery | Curated by John Lee Matney
Curatorial Assistant: Kenlontae’ Turner | Exhibition Design: Amy Reineri
In the spring of 2017, Matney Gallery presented FOR/REAL, a landmark two-person exhibition exploring divergent interpretations of reality through the works of acclaimed Virginia-based artists Martin Johnson and Valerie Hardy. Curated by John Lee Matney with curatorial assistance and a published catalog by Kenlontae' Turner, and exhibition design by architect Amy Reineri, the show brought together Johnson’s conceptual, assemblage-driven approach and Hardy’s observational realism in a provocative pairing. Together, they offered a vivid meditation on what it means to depict and confront the real in contemporary art.
Martin Johnson, Untitled , Mixed Media, 32”x 48
Valerie Hardy, Studio Interior , Oil on Linen, 32” x 42”
Diverging Paths to the Real
Martin Johnson and Valerie Hardy lived and worked together for decades, yet their practices could not be more distinct. Johnson, known for his collages, low-relief sculptures, and text-based conceptual work, embraces found objects and words to create dynamic visual systems of thought. Hardy, in contrast, is a painter of light and stillness, focused on the intimate spaces and overlooked objects of daily life. The exhibition title FOR/REAL played on Johnson’s frequent usage of the word "FOR" in his artworks and writings—“FOR IS FORCE FOR US,” he declares—and underscores the sincerity each artist brings to their practice. Johnson constructs new meanings from cultural detritus; Hardy quietly observes and renders what is already there. In uniting these voices, the exhibition invited viewers to contemplate the spectrum between representation and interpretation, observation and construction.
Martin Johnson,, Untitled , Mixed Media, 48” x 60”
Martin Johnson,, Untitled , Mixed Media, 32” x 48”
Martin Johnson: Language, Assemblage, and the American Vernacular
Born in New Jersey in 1951 and raised in Richmond, Johnson studied architecture at Virginia Tech before earning an MFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the late 1970s, he moved to New York City and became one of the first studio residents at P.S.1 (now MoMA PS1). His early work earned critical attention from figures such as Marcia Tucker and Donald Kuspit, and he was represented by Phyllis Kind Gallery in New York and Chicago from 1979 to 1987. Johnson’s work draws on the vocabulary of Conceptualism, Pop Art, and Outsider Art, yet remains defiantly singular. He describes himself as an "untrained educated artist," using signage, typography, packaging, ticket stubs, and mass-produced materials to generate poetic visual riddles. His collages—like the exuberant “Take a Chance on Being Here”—layer fragments of logos, lottery tickets, and headlines into charged visual fields. These works exlore the aesthetics of consumer culture, but with a touch of humor and play. Several untitled works in the exhibition featured black painted panels stitched with various colors of thread, evoking spider webs, networks, and maps. One collage assembled cartoon features—a wide smile and mismatched eyes—into a surreal, Frankenstein-like face. The result was uncanny and absurd, a visual pun that nodded toward both cultural saturation and creative synthesis.
Martin Johnson, Untitled, Mixed Media, 41” x 30” and Martin Johnson, Untitled, Mixed Media, 41” x 30”
Johnson’s work has entered public collections across the country, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the National Gallery of Art, as part of the Vogel 50x50 gift. His story is also featured in the documentary Herb & Dorothy 50x50, which premiered at the Whitney Museum in 2013.
Martin Johnson, Untitled, Mixed Media, 62” x 96”
Valerie Hardy, White Table Top, Oil on Linen, 17” x 21”
Valerie Hardy: Light, Interior, and the Lyrical Real
Valerie Hardy has painted in Virginia since 1981. With BFA and MFA degrees from American University and a background in both painting and graphic design, Hardy has quietly built a practice focused on the formal and emotional relationships between objects, space, and light. She taught at the College of William & Mary and maintained a studio in Richmond, which she shared with Johnson. At the time of the exhibition, Hardy was preparing for a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. Her work in FOR/REAL reflected her lifelong devotion to close observation. Her paintings included interior scenes of her own studio—wooden floors, scattered chairs, tables with dolls and supplies, and mirrors that reflect parts of the room unseen. These details weren’t merely descriptive; they formed micro-narratives of time and presence.
One standout work showed a quiet corner lit by soft afternoon light, with chairs lined up along a wall and toys resting on a side table. The sense of absence was palpable, as though someone had just stepped away. Another canvas featured a simple row of coffee mugs, each catching the light slightly differently, revealing subtle variations in shape, surface, and shadow.Hardy's work is about attention: to form, to presence, to light. In the context of Johnson’s maximalism, her paintings offered calm and focus. Yet both artists shared a commitment to the real—the reality of material, perception, and the studio itself.
Valerie Hardy, Cups and Saucers , Oil on Linen, 16” x 20”
Valerie Hardy, Trio , Oil on Linen, 26” x 32”(left) and Valerie Hardy, Enamel Table Top , Oil on Linen, 42” x 36”(right)
Valerie Hardy, Green Tray , Oil on Linen, 25” x 21”
Exhibition Design: Installation as Interpretation
The gallery installation, designed in collaboration with architect Amy Reineri, maintained a clear spatial distinction between the two artists’ works. Johnson’s assemblages and constructions filled the main gallery space, while Hardy’s paintings were installed in the smaller entrance gallery. This curatorial decision preserved the integrity of each artist’s voice and allowed viewers to engage with their work on its own terms.
Reineri’s architectural expertise influenced the installation’s layout, including the design of pedestals, selection of sightlines, and lighting strategies that emphasized the material and conceptual depth of Johnson’s pieces. Meanwhile, Turner’s close study of both artists’ work informed a thoughtful sequencing that respected the independent impact of each body of work while sustaining the exhibition’s thematic cohesion. Together, their collaboration resulted in a refined spatial experience that reinforced the exhibition’s core inquiry into perception and reality.
Thematic Framing: Kenlontae’ Turner’s Curatorial Voice, with Writing Support by Lita Tirak, Ph.D.
As curatorial assistant, Kenlontae’ Turner shaped much of the viewer experience through the exhibition catalog, wall text, and a written interview with the artists. His framing emphasized the artists’ shared commitment to authenticity and process. In the catalog introduction, Turner described Johnson’s assemblages as playful yet pointed commentaries on cultural excess—“visual essays” in their own right. He contrasted this with Hardy’s intimate interiors, which he observed with care: baby dolls perched on a table, a mirror reflecting the artist at work, chairs quietly lining the walls.
While not a formal critical essay, Turner’s writing offered interpretive scaffolding—language that helped decode the layered humor and critique in Johnson’s work, and elevated the delicate observational power in Hardy’s paintings. Additional writing support and collaboration on the artist interview were provided by Lita Tirak, Ph.D., whose academic insight helped frame the artists' practices within broader contemporary conversations.
Together, their contributions added clarity and depth to the show, allowing viewers to engage more fully with the visual and conceptual dialogue between Johnson and Hardy.
Public Reception and Cultural Impact
The exhibition received wide praise from visitors and critics alike. Opening weekend events drew strong attendance from Williamsburg residents, students, and collectors. Johnson and Hardy were present to speak with guests, adding a personal dimension to the experience. A mid-summer salon event extended the exhibition's reach, allowing new visitors to encounter the works in fresh arrangements. The interplay between Johnson’s vivid collages and Hardy’s intimate paintings generated reflection and conversation across age groups and backgrounds.FOR/REAL reinforced Matney Gallery’s reputation as a venue for intellectually ambitious, community-engaged contemporary art. It bridged regional traditions with national discourses and elevated two artists with profound but underrecognized practices. For Williamsburg—a city often oriented toward its colonial past—the exhibition served as a vivid reminder that contemporary art has a home here, and that the real, in all its forms, can be encountered through thoughtful curation and committed artistic vision.
Legacy and Continuing Influence
FOR/REAL has continued to resonate in the gallery’s programming and curatorial ethos. It showcased the value of juxtaposing divergent voices and embracing both conceptual daring and observational depth. It also served as a mentorship platform for emerging curators like Turner and underscored the role of design in shaping meaning. Above all, FOR/REAL exemplified Matney Gallery’s founding mission: to be a space where sincere artistic practices are nurtured, ideas are tested, and viewers are invited to look—and look again. The real, it suggested, is not a fixed state but an active encounter. And in that spirit, the exhibition delivered its promise. It was, in every way, for real.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT FOR/REAL
Martin Johnson,, Untitled, Mixed Media, 48” x 60”
AN INTERVIEW WITH Martin Johnson and Valerie Hardy BY KENLONTAE TURNER AND LITA TIRAK
Husband and wife artists Martin Johnson and Valerie Hardy have amassed a vivid array of paintings, assemblages, and spontaneous wordplay. Based in Richmond, VA, their work is currently on display at the Linda Matney Gallery. Gallery intern, Kenlontae’ Turner, had the opportunity to interview Johnson and Hardy and gain insight into their unique artistic inspiration, message, and process. Johnson’s work contains a great amount of wordplay, which is evident in the following interview.
Martin Johnson
Johnson trained at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for architecture, and the University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill for studio art. He is a collector of found objects, as seen on display in a variety of forms at the Matney Gallery. Johnson appropriates lemon peel, glitter, buttons, paintbrushes, kitchen utensils, and Googly eyes and pairs them with his signature “FOR”—emphasizing the use value of objects and his removal of their use to make art. Through these playful means, his work literally reaches out to the gallery observer.
KT: What’s the process behind your artwork? How much planning/sketching do you do beforehand?
MJ: The artwork, the consciousness behind the ‘artwork’ is the intent which inspires or allows the\a process to bring to possibility a piece of the puzzle of making ‘Art’. In my case the plan is embracing said consciousness which is a filter to everything there is. Sketching is utilized when appropriate to scheme; rather a non-conventional transformative vision. All Materials - paint canvas string wood wire words objects photographs ALL MATERIALS are available. The highest goal FOR me is to experience something that triggers the sense of the ineffable. The Mystery of Life and Love - the Beauty of Work (all work) - the Sense Meaning as an Act of Faith. A deep seated belief. The ability to step back and watch it happen - to Let Go.
Martin Johnson, Untitled, Mixed Media, 62” x 96”.
KT: I learned that you have some experience studying Architecture at Virginia Tech. In what ways, if any, does architectural concept/ideas influence your work?
MJ: Architecture as Physical Structure - as Work of Art - as container of or Space itself defined.
Applying his previous skills in architectural rendering, he builds “unises” made from wire, string, rope, and wood strips into geometric forms that project outward from the base of the art. The word “unis” refers both to the object and the spatial changes happening to it through artmaking.
KT: How do you know when a work is done?
MJ: That is a great question! I consider my entire Oeuvre to be ‘One Piece’ that will not be done until I am done….
Martin Johnson, Untitled, Mixed Media, 32” x 48”
KT: Your pieces tend to have a very dynamic and lively quality about them, almost as if it is actually reaching out towards the audience. What do you think people usually experience when they see your work?
MJ: The work is Not considering evaluation (audience) outside of my Expressing Tracings of Makings Absorbed and Released Through Times Ago and Now. Seeing the pieces of the whole in an exhibition setting is like seeing it anew for myself. Seeing the object as a mystery Brings Joy. I make the objects more as ‘Prays’ not praise.
At times, the unises appear as a cage enclosing the found objects inside, and at others, it indicates a stream-of-consciousness projecting from the mind of one of his composed faces. The unises remind the observer that his art is transformative, so that an orange ceramic cat is no longer a ceramic cat but a vital component of meaningful significance. Therefore, the realness of the objects on display is called into question as well as their purpose “FOR.” FOR/REAL presents his work as art-FOR-art. Johnson’s work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Art and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
KT: In what ways do you think your work has changed over the years?
MJ: 45 years of makings have evolved over time as a continuum with repeated methods and symbols. The Original Impulse to see connections grow defining confusion/infinity. ‘Practice’ is the key to mastery—practice is mastery—commitment as inevitable and unquestioned.
KT: What is something you know now that you’d wished you knew at the beginning of your art career?
MJ: My ‘Career” began when I ‘Identifi[ed]’ as an ‘Artis[t]’ with all the responsibilities and frustrations and magic involved in this life. Marsha Tucker told me in the 1970’s “an Artist Life is its Own Reward. There is Art and there is the Art Market—rarely do they coexist.”
Valerie Hardy
Valerie Hardy, Studio Interior, Oil on Canvas.
Hardy trained at American University for painting and graphic design. Her vibrant, colorful oil paintings on display are in the approach of perceptual painting. These works seek to produce sensation through color and brushstroke. Hardy’s setting is her artist’s studio: a wooden floor lined up with different chairs, baby dolls on a small table, and painter’s utensils with her reflection in a mirror.
KT: How do you decide on a composition/set-up for your still-lives?
VH: I set up a still-life by moving objects around until the arrangement intrigues me and inspires me to paint it. Certain aspects of the tabletop seem to recur: reflective surfaces, strong sense of horizon, etc. But I don’t consciously compose before I begin painting.
KT: Which artists and/or art movements would you say have had the greatest impact on you and your work?
VH: Bonnard, Degas, Vuillard, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Velasquez, Morandi….. I like any painter who is strongly connected to visual reality with intensely felt emotional sensation in the work.
She takes advantage of soft natural window light to examine form, and uses color to bring the cooling softness of morning, the intense mid-day sunlight, and bright sunsets of evening. Her brushwork is fluid, but it produces a quiet stillness at the same time. The brushwork and color present the wear of time on her subjects—so that the floor feels walked on and the baby dolls have not been played with for a long time.
Hardy was an Instructor of Art at the College of William and Mary from 1984–2002, teaching painting and life-drawing. She has received an artist’s residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris.
KT: I was aware that you studied graphic design in your undergraduate. How does graphic design play a role, if any, in your paintings?
VH: I believe that graphic design training gave me an appreciation and understanding of the full picture plane, the rectangle. No area can be an afterthought. Space is anchored to the vertical and horizontal boundaries. Once that is understood and felt, composition can develop seamlessly.
Valerie Hardy, Green Tray, Oil on Canvas.
KT: If you could use any artist, past or present, as your muse, who would it be and why?
VH: The artist whose work moved me. Could be anyone, any time.
KT: What’s the most valuable lesson you have learned over the years as an artist? What advice would you give to an up-and-coming artist?
VH: Look as hard as you can. Try to feel something for what you see. Care as much as you can about what you are making. If you are truly interested, in a deep way, in what you are seeing and then making, the work will be interesting. Not to worry, as you have no choice anyway.
FOR/REAL is currently open to the public at the Linda Matney Gallery and will run through September 7th, 2017.
Interview by Lita Tirak and Kenlontae’ Turner
Valerie Hardy,, Waiting , Oil on Linen, 42” x 31”