Matthew McLendon (born 1977) is an American museum director, art historian, and curator of modern and contemporary art. McLendon serves as Director and CEO of the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas.

Life and education

Florida native McLendon grew up in Palatka in the northeast part of the state. A

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

graduate of

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

, McLendon earned bachelor's degrees with honors in both music and art history. While at FSU, McLendon was appointed to the first internship in the Department of Education and Public Programming at the

Tate Gallery London Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

. He completed his MA and PhD studies at the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

in London, and is an alumnus of the 64th Attingham Summer School. His master's thesis was focused on the war works of

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''BLAST,'' the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His novels include ''Tarr'' ( ...

and his dissertation on the manifestos of the

Italian Futurists Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects suc ...

of the early 20th century.

Career

McLendon was named Interim Curator of Adult Learning at

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

in 2002, where he was responsible for public programming related to the

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...

awarded to

Keith Tyson Keith Tyson (born Keith Thomas Bower,Keith Tyson

. After returning to the United States, he was named the inaugural Curator of Academic Initiatives at the

Cornell Fine Arts Museum The Rollins Museum of Art is located on the Winter Park campus of Rollins College and is the only teaching museum in the greater Orlando area. The museum houses more than 5,000 objects ranging from antiquity through contemporary eras, including ...

, where he worked on exhibitions serving both collegiate and community audiences including ''Michael Phillips and the Infernal Method of William Blake'' (2009), and ''

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

: Personalities'' (2010) In 2010, McLendon was recruited by The Ringling to reinvigorate its modern and contemporary programs, after a fifteen-year gap in curatorial leadership. In the first two years of his tenure, McLendon oversaw the permanent installation of ''Joseph's Coat'', the largest

Skyspace A skyspace is an architectural design in which a room, which is painted in a neutral color has a large hole in its ceiling which opens directly to the sky. The room, whose perimeter has benches, allows observers to look at the sky in such a way a ...

James Turrell James Turrell (born May 6, 1943) is an American artist known for his work within the Light and Space movement. Much of Turrell's career has been devoted to a still-unfinished work, ''Roden Crater'', a natural cinder cone crater located outside ...

to date, as well as three exhibitions from the museum's permanent collection and two major exhibitions focused on living artists. In addition to a revived emphasis on original exhibitions and collection building, McLendon established the ''Art of Our Time'' initiative, in conjunction with Ringling Curator of Performance Dwight Currie. The series was created to spotlight emerging and mid-career visual and performing artists, build on the success of the Ringling International Arts Festival inaugurated by the Museum and the Baryshnikov Arts Center in 2009, and renew the contemporary art commitment made by The Ringling's first director, A. Everett "Chick" Austin. In 2016, the initiative celebrated its fifth anniversary with a major gift to support the series and create a new gallery dedicated to contemporary art. With the addition of the Monda Gallery, four rededicated galleries in the Searing Wing, and the in-progress Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion, close to 10,000 square feet was devoted to the contemporary program during McLendon's tenure. In December 2016,

Hyperallergic ''Hyperallergic'' is an online arts magazine, based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded by the art critic Hrag Vartanian and his husband Veken Gueyikian in October 2009, the site describes itself as a "forum for serious, playful, and radical thinking ...

named McLendon's ''

R. Luke DuBois Roger Luke DuBois (born 10 September 1975) is an American composer, performer, conceptual art, conceptual new media artist, programmer, record producer and Pedagogy, pedagogue based in New York City. Early life DuBois was born in Morristown, Ne ...

—Now'' one of the top 15 exhibitions in the United States. McLendon was appointed director and chief curator of the

Fralin Museum of Art The Fralin Museum of Art is an art museum at the University of Virginia. Before 2012, it was known as the University of Virginia Art Museum. It occupies the historic Thomas H. Bayly Building on Rugby Road in Charlottesville, Virginia, a short dis ...

in November 2016, assuming the role at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in January 2017. In 2018, the position was endowed with a $3 million gift as the J. Sanford Miller Family Director. During McLendon's tenure, the museum expanded and diversified its permanent collection, notably increasing major support, museum attendance, and exhibition coverage in national media.

Key exhibitions

*''20th Century Abstract Art from the Permanent Collection'' (2010) *''

Josef Albers Josef Albers (; ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born artist and educator. The first living artist to be given a solo show at MoMA and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he taught at the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College, ...

: Color'' (2011) *''Luminosity'' (2011) *''Beyond Bling: Voices of Hip-Hop in Art'' (2011) *''

Zimoun Zimoun (born 1977) is a Swiss artist who lives and works in Bern, Switzerland. As self-taught artist, he is most known for his sound sculptures, sound architectures and installation art that combine raw, industrial materials such as cardboard boxe ...

: Sculpting Sound'' (2011) *''

Sanford Biggers Sanford Biggers (born 1970 in Los Angeles) is a Harlem-based interdisciplinary artist who works in film/video, installation, sculpture, music, and performance.

: Codex'' (2012) *''The Warren J. and Margot Coville Photography Collection'' (2012) *''The Philip and Nancy Kotler Glass Collection'' (2012) *''The Sarasota School of Architecture'' (2013) *''R. Luke DuBois—Now'' (2014) *''

Beth Lipman Beth Lipman (born 1971, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a contemporary artist working in glass. She is best known for her glass still-life compositions which reference the work of 16th- and 17th-century European painters. Biography Beth Lipman ...

: Precarious Possessions'' (2014) *''Re:Purposed'' (2015) *''EMIT: What the Bringback Brought,

Trenton Doyle Hancock Trenton Doyle Hancock (born 1974) is an American artist working with Printmaking, prints, drawings, and collaged-felt paintings. Through his work, Hancock mainly aims to tell the story of the Mounds, mystical creatures that are part of the artist ...

'' (2015) *'' Paul Rudolph: The Guest Houses'' (2015) *'' Anne Patterson: Pathless Woods'' (2016) *'' Toni Dove: Embodied Machines'' (2018) *''

Vanessa German Vanessa German (born 1976) is an American sculptor, painter, writer, activist, performer, and poet based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her sculpture often includes assembled statues of female figures with their faces or heads painted black, and ...

: sometimes.we.cannot.be.with.our.bodies'' (2019) *''

Joseph Cornell Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and film-maker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of Assemblage (art), assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde e ...

: Enclosing Infinity'' (2022)

Selected guest lectures and events

*L’arte di far manifesti: Marinetti's ‘collaging’ of the Manifesto, Matthew McLendon, 97th Annual

College Art Association The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understa ...

Conference, Los Angeles (2009) *Engaging the Crowd: The Futurist Manifesto as Avant-Garde Advertisement, Matthew McLendon, Back to the Futurists: Avant-Gardes 1909–2009,

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

, and

University of Swansea , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...

, London (2009) *The Italian Futurists: Art + Architecture, Dr. Matthew McLendon, Sarasota Architecture Foundation Lecture Series, Sarasota, FL (2013) *Michael Wyshock's Water Threads with Matthew McLendon, Lu Magnus, New York (2014) *In Conversation: R. Luke DuBois and Matthew McLendon,

Orange County Museum of Art The Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located on the campus of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. The museum's collection comprises more than 4,500 objects, with a concentration o ...

, Newport Beach, CA (2015) *R. Luke DuBois: On Art and Performance, Matthew McLendon,

Bowdoin College Museum of Art The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is an art museum located in Brunswick, Maine. Included on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum is located in a building on the campus of Bowdoin College designed by the architectural firm McKim, Me ...

, Brunswick, ME (2016) *A Dream Team: The Curator, Fundraiser, and Philanthropist, Matthew McLendon and Anna Von Gehr,

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2016) *Weed Heart: Conversation with Matthew McLendon and Jill Sigman,

Gibney Dance Gibney Dance, founded in 1991 by choreographer Gina Gibney, is a multi-faceted dance organization occupying two locations in New York City: one at 890 Broadway in the Flatiron District and the other at 280 Broadway in Tribeca. The organization’ ...

Agnes Varis Agnes Varis (''née'' Koulouvaris; January 11, 1930 – July 29, 2011) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who was the founder and president of Agvar Chemicals Inc. and Aegis Pharmaceuticals. Early life and family Varis was born ...

Performing Arts Center, New York (2016) *When the Other Shoe Drops: Essential Steps to Effective Crisis Communication, Matthew McLendon, Convener and Moderator, American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2019) *Color Light Motion, Episode 12: Toni Dove, Matthew McLendon, respondent,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Art , Sci Center, Los Angeles, CA,

Harvestworks Harvestworks is a not-for-profit arts organization located in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by artists supporting the creation and presentation of art works achieved through the use of new technologies. The Harvestworks TEAM Lab (Technology ...

, New York, NY, David Bermant Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA (2022)

References

External links

McNay Art Museum

The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia

John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Fralin Museum series Curatorial Clips: Italian Futurism

Installation Magazine video: Artist Rob Tarbell Studio Visit with Matthew McLendon

Video of McLendon lecture at Bowdoin College Museum of Art in conjunction with exhibition R. Luke DuBois—Now

Overview of Precarious Possessions installation by artist Beth Lipman
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLendon, Matthew Living people 1977 births Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Florida State University alumni Directors of museums in the United States American art curators