Skip to main content

This is your Donation message.

Matthew McLendon (BA 2000)

Published November 4, 2016

mclendonsmMatthew is the director and chief curator of the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia. He previously served for six years as the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. After receiving Bachelor’s degrees in Art History and Music at Florida State University, he entered the graduate program at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and received his PhD in Art History in 2004. While completing his doctoral work, he served as Interim Curator of Adult Learning at Tate Britain. He is currently visiting faculty at both Florida State University and New College of Florida were he teaches graduate and advanced undergraduate seminars on Contemporary Art and Theory.

Leading the Art of Our Time initiative to engage artists across media, some of Matthew’s key successes at The Ringling have been the permanent installation of Joseph’s Coat, the largest Skyspace created by James Turrell; the first survey exhibition of cross-genre artist R. Luke DuBois; the first major US exhibition of work by the Swiss kinetic sound sculptor Zimoun; the 2015 Re:Purposed exhibition of 10 contemporary artists; and major projects with Sanford Biggers and Trenton Doyle Hancock. His original programming and collection-building has brought large new audiences to a museum previously known primarily for its Old Masters collection. In 2016-17 Matthew will oversee the reallocation and opening of nearly 10,000 sq feet of gallery space dedicated to modern and contemporary art at the museum signaling the overwhelming success of these initiatives.

>