Matt Magee

Biography

Matt Magee combines geometric minimalism with expressive brushwork in his paintings. His visual language relates to early hard-edge abstraction and finds inspiration in the way a scientist would present objects. Magee’s compositions are organizations of shapes that have been informed by personal history, numerology, and language. His sculptures are inspired by or comprised of found objects and point to the mundane yet hold a sophisticated presence. 

In his early years Magee found a sense of order from his father, a geologist and archaeologist, who took him on trips through the Southwest where he collected small objects along the way.  As a young adult he worked on a seismic truck in Laredo, TX and recorded vibrations sent into the earth to determine underlying geologic formations. Later, Magee was the chief photo archivist for the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Throughout his life, he has established ways of collecting that now inform his art making practice.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Magee has been a Josef and Anni Albers Foundation resident fellow, a New York Foundation for the Arts Painting Grant recipient, and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant recipient. His work has been shown at the Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale; Dallas Center for Contemporary Art; Contemporary Museum, Baltimore; and the Albright Knox Gallery, Buffalo, among many others. Matt Magee lives and works in Phoenix.

Education
1986
M.F.A. Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
1983
B.A. Trinity University, San Antonio, TX
Internship. Peggy Guggenheim Collection Venice, Italy
1981-1982
Internship. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
1970-1971
Camden Arts Centre Ceramics workshops, London, UK

Solo Exhibitions
2023
On Memory and Coding, Richard Levy Gallery Albuquerque, NM

2022
It’s All About You, Standard Space, Sharon, CT
Matt Magee: Analog, Bookstein Projects, New York, NY

2018
TYPOLOGIES, John Molloy Gallery, New York, NY
Wall. Text., Mural for Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Matt Magee *>][<’.’’-,}.*| , Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ

2017
Matt Magee: formUlate, David Hall Fine Art, Wellesley, MA
Wall of Text, Everybody Gallery, Tucson,AZ
Matt Magee Photographs 1981-2016, Shortcut Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
Glen Hanson and Matt Magee Recent Work, Indie/Jacobs, Marfa, TX
Signs: The Photographs of Matt Magee, Darren Winston Bookseller, Sharon, CT
Matt Magee: Prints, Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX

2016
Matt Magee: On Language and Marking Time, Eagle Gallery, London, UK
Seven: A Survey of Paintings by Matt Magee, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
How the West Was Won, Darren Winston Bookseller, Sharon, CT
Prima Materia, Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX
Memory and Reflection, site specific mural, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
Wall Grapheme 1, site specific mural, Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, NM
Grapheme 3, site specific mural, ArtEXPO, Chicago, IL

2015
Matt Magee Marfa, Inde/Jacobs, Marfa, TX
Paintings & Textcavations: new work by Matt Magee, John Molloy Gallery, New York, NY

2014
Matt Magee: Recent Paintings and Sculptures, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM

2013
Circa 1994, Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX

2011
Paintings, Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX

2010
New Paintings, Knoedler Project Space, New York, NY

2009
Ideograms, Devin Borden Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX

2008
Thought Forms, Eight Modern, Santa Fe, NM
Heskin Contemporary, New York, NY

2007
River Gallery, Narrowsburg, New York, NY

2000
Bill Maynes Gallery, New York, NY

1997
Bill Maynes Gallery, New York, NY

1995
Gerald Peters Gallery, Dallas, TX

1990
Berland Hall Gallery, New York, NY

Group Exhibitions
2023
Arizona Biennial, Curated by Taina Caragol, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ

2022
Ludovic Chemarin, Matt Magee, Miquel Mont, New Work in Small Editions, Woolworth Publications, Paris, FR
Seeing Red, Looking Blue, Feeling Green, Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY
Form+Practice, The Gallery at Mountain Shadows, Scottsdale, AZ
InstaSelect, Mark Borghi Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY

2021
ABSTRACT, Room57 Gallery, New York, NY
First Look: Queer Artists and Allies from the Collection, Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
Selections from the Flat File, Planthouse Gallery, New York, NY
On and Off the Grid, Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX

2020
Gifts from the Flat Files, Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, NM
Matt Magee and Jesse Rieser, The Sunset Spot Red Modern, Phoenix, AZ
Stories of Abstraction: Contemporary Latin American Art in the Global Context, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
3 Day Weekend, Curated by Pamela Willoughby & Victoria de Lesseps, The Fireplace Project, East Hampton, NY
American Friends of the Louvre Gala, New York, NY
BLUE A Call to Action Exhibition in Arizona, Lisa Sette Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona Bienniel, Guest Juror Joe Baker, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
FRAGILE, Planthouse Gallery, New York, NY
Roadside Attraction, organized by ArtFarm Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ
silver linings, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
Together in Isolation, Re Institute Millerton, NY
The Painting People, Michael Woolworth Publications, Paris, France
The Blurred Discreteness of Colors, Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX

2019
60th Anniversary Exhibition, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
ODDS, TOMA Project Space, London, UK
Panel Paintings 3: Diptych, Eagle Gallery, EMH Arts, London, UK
RR + Co Robert Rauschenberg and the vital energies behind his work, hausq, Tucson, AZ
Multiple Impressions: Artist Collaborations with Radius Books and Tamarind Institute, Tamarind, Albuquerque, NM

2018
Arizona Tryennial, Curated by Zach Witter, hausq, Tucson, AZ
hauswarming, Curated by Zach Witter, hausq, Tucson, AZ
Abstract Syntax, Eagle Gallery/EMH Arts, London, UK

2017
Santo Press: The First Eight Years, Chandler Center for the Arts Gallery Chandler, AZ
From Our Inventory (with James Turrell, Louise Bourgeois, Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, Brice Marden, Jasper Johns, Bill Jacobson, Kate Shepherd, Howard Hodgkin), Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX
Houston Artists Select: Selections from the Museum’s Collection (with Louise Bourgeois, Robert Mangold, Man Ray, Ed Ruscha, Betye Saar, Richard Serra), Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX
Say a little prayer for u.s., Planthouse, New York, NY
Summer Group Show, inde/jacobs, Marfa, TX
Tabular: Michelle Magot, Matt Magee and Diana Guerrero-Macia,
Metropolitan Capital Bank, Chicago, IL
If You Stay Busy You Have No Time to be Unhappy, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson, AZ

2016
Regeneration, The Orme School, Mayer, AZ
Color Coded, Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, NM
Printed Matter, Offload Productions Artspace, Santa Fe, NM
The Walk: Guy Walker, Sandy Moore, Matt Magee, The Re Institute, Millerton, NY
Santo Press: Finding Relief in the Desert, Sky Harbor International Airport, Terminal 4, Phoenix, AZ

2015
Magician’s Table, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
Artists Repurpose the Book, Second Space Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
New Prints 2015/Winter, International Print Center, New York, NY
Hard Edge Abstraction:  Works on Paper, Albuquerque Museum of Art, Albuquerque, NM
Multiplied Contemporary Art in Editions, Christie’s South Kensington, In association with Eagle Gallery, London
Art on the Green, (with Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Eric Forstmann and Boaz Vaadia), Silo Ridge Field Club, Amenia, NY
Sonoran Hot Dog Stand, (with Peter Young, Alex Hay, Olivier Mossett, Andrew  Shuta, Robert Barber et al), Ollman Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Opening Exhibition, inde/jacobs, Marfa, TX
Red Yellow Blue, (with Tony Feher, Jim Hodges, Agnes Martin, James Siena, James Turrell, Kate Shepherd, Fred Sandback, Will Henry, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Brook Stroud, Michael Petry), Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston,TX
Fold, (with Anders Bergstrom, Martha Lewis and Rachel Ostrow) Curated by, Jeff Bergman and Rachel Gladfelter, Planthouse, New York, NY
Minimally Speaking, (with Mark Pomilio, Denise Yaghmourian, John Luebtow, Peter Millet, Stephanie Blake), Bentley Projects, Phoenix, AZ
Black and White, Mostly, (with James Turrell, Chris Wool, Richard Serra, Richard Tuttle, Frank Stella, Robert Wilson, Kate Shepherd, Meg Webster et al), Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX

2014
Color Rhythms, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
Site Unseen 8, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
Panel Paintings 2, Eagle Gallery EMH Arts, London, England
Rare Prints and Artists’ Editions, Eagle Gallery, EMH Arts, London, England
Inaugural Exhibition, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Hot Off the Press, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY (with Mel Bochner, Alex Katz, Donald Baechler et al)
One•n•Ten, Today’s Youth – Tomorrow’s Future, Phoenix, AZ
From the Vault, Imogen Holloway Gallery, Saugerties, NY
Signs and Syntax, Eagle Gallery EMH Arts, London, England

2013
Accomplice, The COLLABORATIVE WORKS of Brent Bond and Santo Press, Mesa Art Center, AZ
The ORACLE Project, Organized by Melissa Steckbauer and Mathilde ter
Heijne, The Wand, Berlin
New Editions, Tamarind Institute Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
Geometric Abstraction from Bauhaus to Contemporary, An Eighty Year Survey, David Hall Fine Art, Wellesley, MA
June Painting, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Punctuations, Separations and Artists’ Books, Emma Hill Eagle Gallery, London
Playing with Process: Experimental Prints from the Permanent Collection,
Curated by Rebecca A. Dunham, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
STOCKED: Contemporary Art from the Grocery Aisles, Curated by Emily Stamey, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
The Example, Curated by Jessica Hodin & Tyler Healy, Bleecker Street Arts Club, New York, NY
Panel Paintings, Organized by Emma Hill, Eagle Gallery, London
The Art of Renewal, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM

2012
Win/Win benefit for the Tamarind Institute, Richard Levy Gallery,Albuquerque, NM
Margrit Lewczuk/Matt Magee, Imogen Holloway Gallery, Saugerties, New York, NY
Liv Mette Larsen/Matt Magee, Rose Burlingham, NY
Zoom In, Imogen Holloway Gallery, Saugerties, NY
SITE Unseen, Santa Fe, NM
Mind Head, Curated by Rose Burlingham, Jim Contemporani, Barcelona (w/artists Jack Davidson, Mary Heilman, Stephen Westfall, Sinead Mhaonaigh)

2011
Captured: A Portrait Show, Curated by John Serdula, Heskin Contemporary, NY
Good Stuff, Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX
The Modernist Thread, Curated by Sally Sprout, Williams Tower, Houston, TX
Arthouse Five x Seven, Austin, TX
Final Gesture, Curated by Charles Finch, David Hall Fine Art Wellesley, MA
The Garden, Curated by James Salomon and Beverly Allan, Allan/Nederpel Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Monster Drawing Rally, DUMBO Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY
January White Sale, Curated by Beth Rudin Dewoody, Loretta Howard Gallery, New York, NY

2010
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Benefit, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, NY
S(l)umm(er)ing on Madison Avenue, Curated by Jo-ey Tang, The Notary Public, New York, NY
Calligrams, Eagle Gallery/Emma Hill Fine Art, London
ECO EXPO, Organized by Angela Royo, New York, NY
What Matters Most, Exit Art, New York, NY
WISH!, Dallas Center for Contemporary Art, Dallas, TX

2009
Transform/Transmute, Caldwell College, Caldwell, NJ
Eat for Art, Columbia County Council on the Arts, New York, NY

2008
WISH!, Dallas Center for Contemporary Art, Dallas, TX

2007
Holiday Show, Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, OH
Punchbowl, Metaphor Contemporary, Brooklyn, NY
Groundswell, In association with Heskin Contemporary, New York, NY
GREEN, Metaphor Contemporary, Brooklyn, NY
Nightshift II, Curated by David Howe, White Box, New York, NY
ADDRESSING IRAQ: MAIL ART ABOUT THE WAR. The Reitz Gallery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

2006
En Masse, Heskin Contemporary, New York, NY
Visual AIDS, Postcard from the Edge, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., NY
Formica Formatted, The Dallas Center for Contemporary Art, Dallas, TX
There’s Something I Should Tell You Before You Take the Blindfold Off….Rose, Burlingham, NY
Silvermine Arts Center, Curated by Ben Barzune, New Canaan, CT
Washington Project for the Arts/Corcoran Gallery, Washington, DC
FashionCares, Milk Studios, New York, NY

2005
NY loves LV, Curated by Lisa Stefanelli, Dust Gallery. Las Vegas, NV

2004
Holiday Show 2004, Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, OH
95 Canal Project: Out of Our Element, Curated by Bettina Smith and Christina Warner, New York, NY
Arts Council of Princeton, NJ
Two by Two for Amfar, Dallas, TX

2003
Night of 1000 Drawings, Artists Space, New York, NY
Summer Group Show and Invitational, Bill Maynes Gallery
Ten Years in Columbus, Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
Two by Two for Amfar, Dallas, TX
Winter Group Show, Bill Maynes Gallery, New York, NY

2002
Works on Paper, Bill Maynes Gallery, New York, NY

2001
Small, Museum Editions Art Advisors, New York, NY
Paul Morris Gallery, New York, NY

2000
Snapshot, Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD
Panel Paintings, Wilson Stephens Fine Art, London
Monotype, Malca Fine Art, New York, NY

1999
Size Matters, Curated by Mike Weiss, Gail Gates et al, Brooklyn, NY
Summertime, Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, OH
Three Americans, Wilson Stephens Fine Art, London
Art for Kid’s Sake, Thread Waxing Space, New York, NY

1998
Jewel Box Project, GAGA, New York (organized by Patrick Callery)
Paullina Cupana: A Group Show, Bill Maynes Gallery, New York, NY
Glyphriff 2, Curated by Max Henry, New York Art Exchange
Panel Paintings, Wilson Stephens Fine Art, London

1997
Prose-Thesis, Mottworks, Paris
Race Cars and Other Fast Art, Stefanelli Exhibition Space, New York, NY
Art for Kid’s Sake, Thread Waxing Space, New York, NY
Why Do You Look at Me So Strangely?, Planet Thai, Brooklyn, NY
Alive and Well, Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York, NY
Collector’s Gallery, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Blanc & White, Mottworks, New York, NY

1996
Link, Gerald Peters, Dallas, TX
No England/No Amsterdam, Curated by Mike and Doug Starn, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT

1995
Inaugural Exhibition, Morris Healy Gallery, New York, NY
Site Santa Fe, In association with Throckmorton Fine Arts, New York, NY
Link, Gerald Peters Gallery, Dallas, TX

1994
Small Paintings, Paul Morris Gallery, New York, NY
Some Paintings, Lipton/Owens Gallery, New York, NY
Selections, Carolyn J. Roy Gallery, New York, NY

1993
Chamber 1, Curated by Steve Brower and Melissa Dadourian, New York
The Animal in Me, Amy Lipton Gallery, New York, NY

1992
Outside Possibilities, Curated by Bill Arning, The Rushmore Festival, Woodbury, NY
The Neurotic Art Show II, The Return of the Repressed, Artists Space, New York, NY
The Root of All Good (and Evil), B.W.A.C. 10th Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, New York

1991
Ornament: Ho Hum All Ye Faithful, John Post Lee Gallery, New York, NY

1990
China: June 4, l989, P.S. 1, New York, NY

1989
Outside the Clock, Beyond Good and Elvis, Scott Hanson Gallery, New York, NY

1988
Sculpture, White Columns, New York, NY
Group Show, Rastovski Gallery, New York, NY

1987
New Work, New York, Jon Gerstad Gallery, New York, NY

1986
The Christmas Show, Jon Gerstad Gallery, New York, NY
Concert for a Party of Squid, MFA Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
The Box Project, Royal Academy of Arts, The Hague, The Netherland

Collections
Andaz Scottsdale Resort and Spa, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ
Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, CT
Beineke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, NM
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, TX
Armstrong Art Consulting, Houston, TX
Devin Borden, Houston, TX
Hiram Butler, Houston, TX
Capital One Financial Services, VA
C2 Art Advisors, Houston, TX
Cleveland Clinic Art Program, Cleveland, OH
Christophe de Menil, New York, NY
Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, GA
Beth Rudin Dewoody, New York, NY
Tony Fitzpatrick, Chicago, IL
Genentech, San Francisco, CA
Goldman Sachs, New York, NY
HoltCAT, Houston, TX
JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, Tempe, AZ
James Kelly, Santa Fe, NM
Sean Kelly, New York, NY
John Kidd and Associates, Houston, TX
Jayant Kumar, Albuquerque, NM
Jaquelin Lloyd, Santa Fe, NM
Linklaters LLC, Brussels, Belgium
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Polsinelli PC Law Firm,  Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York, NY
Gary Snyder, New York, NY
Margo Thoma, Santa Fe, NM
Spencer Throckmorton, New York, NY
Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Menlo Park, CA
Twitter Inc., San Francisco, CA
University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM

Awards
2022
Printmaking Residency, Michael Woolworth Publications, Paris, France

2021
Westport Cultural Council and Westport Land Conservation Trust residency, Westport, MA

2020
Printmaking Residency, Michael Woolworth Publications, Paris, France

2019
Printmaking Residency, Michael Woolworth Publications, Paris, France
4th of July contest winner, Planthouse Gallery, NY
Sculpture Commission, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Tempe, AZ
Paper Variables Residency, Dieu Donne, Brooklyn, NY

2017
Arlene and Mort Scult Award, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ

2016
Tamarind Institute Residency, Albuquerque, NM

2015
Josef and Anni Albers Foundation Residency, Bethany, CT

2013
Tamarind Institute Residency, Albuquerque, NM

2007
The Photo Review Competition issue, juried by Toby Jurovics

2007
Josef and Anni Albers Foundation Residency, Bethany, CT

2006
Board of Trustees Award, Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT

2002
New York Foundation for the Arts painting grant

1991
Pollock-Krasner Foundation painting grant

1985
Atlantic Center for the Arts residency with artist James Surls, FL

Press
2024
Paul Laster, 8 Must-See Solo Gallery Shows in February 2024, Galerie, February 5

2020
Stephen Maine, Artists Quarantine With Their Art Collections, Hyperallergic, October 24

2019
Gilbert Vicario, Marfa’s Ecologies, Paper City Magazine, pg. 68 – 70, November
Lynn Trimble, A Patterned Language, Visual Art Source, June
Monique Mcintosh, Object Lesson, Luxe Magazine, January
Laura Davidson, On Language and Marking Time: Matt Magee, Saturation Point, January

2015
Magicians Table at Richard Levy Gallery

2014
Color Rhythms at Richard Levy Gallery