Matt Kleberg ’04

ALUMNI NEWS

Amid the pandemic, Matt Kleberg ’04 and his wife, Elizabeth, and their two young sons, returned to Texas for three months and felt called home. In September 2020, after seven years in Brooklyn, they said goodbye to friends and the city to put down roots in San Antonio. Both artists, Matt and Elizabeth felt the time was right to begin their next artistic and family endeavors.

“There was not much precedence for art as a vocation in my family,” Matt shared. “I didn’t become an artist by thinking I would be an artist as a kid. I was just a guy who loved learning.”

FWCD provided Matt with the ability to experience the 3A’s and a positive social experience beginning in kindergarten. “I loved all three divisions and had great experiences across the board,” he noted. “The teachers were phenomenal and fostered a great environment to try new things in all areas. I just felt like there was an openness to follow your interests, whatever they were.”

Matt Kleberg ’04

So many teachers made an imprint on Matt’s life. He cites Barbara Meyers, Sheila Pryor, Melissa Williams and Norma Wilkerson H’07 as memorable teachers. “I was a precocious kid. In Mrs. Meyers’ class, I can remember interrupting and asking questions. I was amazed by all the animals she talked about,” Matt said. “The teachers, thank goodness, saw my energy and enthusiasm as a positive.”

Because of Lelia Koeppe, art became a way for Matt to connect with engaging ideas and to have conversations with previous makers and thinkers. “She taught me how to take art seriously … to give myself permission to do something unconventional,” Matt said. Fort Worth Artist Ron Tomlinson served as a mentor to Matt outside of school.

When it came time to choose a college, Matt was drawn to the University of Virginia. His focus: religious studies. “I was a kid who always had those ‘big’ questions and was looking for those ‘big’ answers. I wanted to read and write and mine for answers,” he said. “I continued to take art classes as well. “The deeper I went into theology, the more I realized the answers were increasingly elusive,” Matt continued. “Art had room for doubt and uncertainty and that resonated with me. I began to embrace the mystery of art.”

Matt’s senior thesis show consisted of various portraits, including UVA President Ernest Mead, an important mentor who told Matt to give art an honest try. After earning a BA in Studio Art, Matt took a part-time publishing job while painting portraits. Two years later, art became his full-time job — in 2010, he began to regularly show his work in galleries in Virginia and Connecticut. This early work was figurative with some abstract elements.

Reaching a stasis, Matt went back to school in 2013 for his MFA at Pratt Institute (New York City). “With art, you have to shed some skin to evolve,” he said. “Doing this on my own would have taken 10 years. My schooling helped me take my art to a new level. I had lucky breaks while in grad school and after, which allowed me to show my work in some of the top galleries in New York.”

Matt’s art now consists of large, colorful abstract paintings that look architectural. Arches are a consistent theme, leading viewers to wonder what is beyond the door or curve ahead. While they are empty, they are anticipatory.

Matt is thankful for his family's support: his parents Julie and Scott, follow Falcon siblings Sarah Kleberg Friedman ’06 and Elkin Kleberg ’10, and his sister Julie Kleberg King ’12, who graduated from All Saints’ Episcopal School. “My parents found Ron for me while at FWCD,” he said. “They were concerned about how I would make a living as an artist,” he said. “I’ve just been blessed … by good teachers, with lucky breaks … by important advocates. But it could all fall apart tomorrow.”

This year, Matt had his first international exhibition in Brussels, titled “Blind Leading the Blind.” He is represented by Hiram Butler Gallery (Houston), Sorry We’re Closed Gallery (Brussels), and Barry Whistler Gallery (Dallas). View his work on Instagram @Matt_Kleberg.