John Lee Matney
Curator, Photographer, Cultural Connector

John Lee Matney is a Southern-born curator and photographer whose work bridges the often disconnected realms of institutional art, cultural history, and personal storytelling. As founder and director of the Linda Matney Gallery in Williamsburg, Virginia, he has shaped one of the region’s most distinctive platforms for contemporary Southern and international art. His exhibitions resonate not through spectacle but through thoughtfulness, offering spaces where narrative, craft, and cultural memory come together in ways that feel both grounded and expansive.

Raised in Newport News and educated in the creative energy of 1980s Athens, Georgia, Matney came of age among artists, musicians, and outsiders who demonstrated that art could function as a form of witnessing. His photographic work carries that sensibility: rooted in realism, steeped in Southern nuance, and shaped by the atmosphere of unguarded moments. Whether documentary or conceptual, his images hold a quiet intensity and explore not just what we see, but how we inhabit what we see.

A central thread of Matney’s legacy is his curatorial commitment to building long-term institutional relationships. In recent years he has deepened the gallery’s work with William and Mary and the Muscarelle Museum of Art, facilitating meaningful loans that have supported the museum’s reopening and expanded the visibility of artists connected to the gallery. These collaborations reflect a sustained investment in strengthening regional cultural ecosystems and aligning artists with museum pathways. His advisory role continues to evolve as new opportunities arise with faculty, students, and museum leadership at William and Mary.

Alongside this regional work, Matney has cultivated an expanding dialogue with Eastern European art. Through exhibitions, advisory relationships, and cross-cultural programming, he has brought international artists into conversation with American institutions and collectors, demonstrating how shared themes of memory, resilience, and transformation traverse geographic borders. This growing engagement reflects his belief that Southern art and global art histories can inform one another in productive, unexpected ways.

What distinguishes Matney’s approach is the way he moves through complexity. He listens carefully, remembers precisely, and makes decisions that are both empathetic and exacting. This clarity has earned the trust of artists, collectors, and museum partners who value integrity over noise. When Matney curates, he is not simply arranging objects; he is shaping narratives that ask audiences to consider their place within a broader cultural continuum.

The gallery’s collaborations with institutions such as the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts, the Peninsula Fine Arts Center, the Mason Scharfenstein Museum of Art, and the Muscarelle Museum represent more than isolated partnerships. They form a sustained institutional conversation about legacy, regional identity, and the role of underrepresented voices in contemporary art. Matney has organized more than one hundred exhibitions, many of which have served as points of entry for museums developing collections or exhibitions around overlooked histories. His programming often includes lectures, community events, and publications that bring audiences closer to the work while maintaining intellectual rigor.

Matney is especially drawn to artists who live “in between” categories, whose work carries conviction and consequence even when it resists easy classification. He has a rare talent for recognizing artists who merit museum attention and for finding imaginative, practical ways to create those opportunities.

Today, Matney continues to work with focus and intention, connecting collectors to legacies worth preserving and museums to artists whose contributions might otherwise go unrecognized. His practice is quiet in tone but powerful in impact. To collaborate with him is to enter a more deliberate, more intelligent way of seeing, one shaped by care, curiosity, and cultural stewardship.

Steve Prince

MATNEY Gallery And art Advisory

Lee Matney Curator.

MATNEY GALLERY & ART ADVISORY

Lee Matney — Curator, Photographer, Cultural Connector

A GALLERY ROOTED IN THE SOUTH WITH AN INSTITUTIONAL FOCUS

Matney Gallery presents painted, photographic, and sculptural works that speak to their moment while carrying forward deeper narratives about place, identity, and the human condition. The strength of the program lies in its ability to operate simultaneously on the local, regional, and international stages—connecting artists with museums, collectors, and cultural partners through thoughtful curation and long-view stewardship.

CURATORIAL PRACTICE AND INSTITUTIONAL ALIGNMENT

John Lee Matney curates and facilitates projects with significant American and international artists. His expertise draws from the cultural histories of Athens, Georgia and the American South, alongside active research in European contemporary art and emerging practices at Virginia colleges and universities.
His work bridges studio practice, cultural memory, and museum priorities—often through loans, acquisitions, and partnerships with institutions such as William & Mary and the Muscarelle Museum of Art.

Matney’s curatorial practice is grounded in relationship-building, research, and mentorship. He supports emerging photographers and artists while advancing the careers of mid-career and established figures across painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and film.

ADVISORY SERVICES FOR MUSEUMS & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

Matney Gallery offers specialized curatorial and advisory services for:

  • Museum exhibitions and collection development

  • Private collectors seeking museum-aligned acquisitions

  • Collaborative projects integrating artists, scholars, and cultural organizations

  • Strategic placement of works within institutional archives and permanent collections

The gallery maintains active networks across New York City, Virginia, Houston, and Athens, Georgia, extending its reach into broader national and international cultural ecosystems.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

John Lee Matney is the founder, director, and principal curator of the Linda Matney Fine Art Gallery in Williamsburg, Virginia. Over more than a decade, he has developed a research-driven contemporary program recognized for thematic group exhibitions, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and projects that attract both public and institutional attention.

In addition to his curatorial work, Matney is a photographer and mentor to emerging photographers. His advisory background includes art collection strategy, investment analysis, and project guidance for fashion, film, and interdisciplinary arts initiatives.

SPECIALTIES

  • Contemporary and Southern art

  • European contemporary art

  • Museum-aligned advisory

  • Research-based curation

  • Photography & editorial consulting

  • Art collections and acquisitions strategy

CONTACT

John Lee Matney
Curator & Director
(757) 675-6627
Curator@LindaMatneyGallery.com

If you'd like, I can also create:

  • a shorter collector-facing version,

  • a museum-facing one-page institutional bio,

  • or a website homepage version with more narrative polish.

Would you like one of those?