Since 2015, Matthew has delivered, hosted, or moderated over 150 talks worldwide on contemporary art. He is also beginning to offer talks on his forthcoming book, No New Ideas: Tracing the History of Self-Help to Better Help Yourself (HarperOne, January 2027).
Talks (Hosting/Moderating, Etc.)
Introduction, Walter W.S. Cook Annual Lecture featuring Anne Umland, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, October 27, 2025.
Host, “Celebrating the publication of The Story of NFTs: Artists, Technology, and Democracy by Amy Whitaker and Nora Burnett Abrams. Moderated by Matthew Israel,” Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, March 1, 2023.
Host, “A Private Collection Visit with Renowned Chicago Gallerist Kavi Gupta,” Artful Anywhere series, in collaboration with ICI (Independent Curators International), April 10, 2021.
Host, “Clare McAndrew Discusses the 2021 Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report,” Artful Anywhere series by Artful (Via Zoom), March 23, 2021.
Host, “The New World of Buying Art Online, featuring Noah Horowitz (Art Basel), Mike Steib (Artsy), and Elena Soboleva (David Zwirner),” Artful Anywhere series by Artful (Via Zoom), January 21, 2021.
Speaker, “The Art World’s Future: Koyo Kouoh and Marta Gnyp in Conversation with Matthew Israel,” 92nd Street Y (Virtual Event), December 7, 2020.
Speaker, A Year in the Art World Book Launch at The Strand, featuring Massimiliano Gioni and Sara Friedlander, September 17, 2020.
Host and Speaker, Exhibition Walkthrough and Conversation with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Artful Anywhere series by Artful (Via Zoom), July 30, 2020.
Host and Speaker, Private Home Visit with Collectors Marc and Charlotte Zawel, Artful Anywhere series by Artful (Via Zoom), July 8, 2020.
Host, Private Home Visit with Collector Matt Carey-Williams, in conversation with Lucy Rosenburgh, Artful Anywhere series by Artful (Via Zoom), June 25, 2020.
Host and Speaker, Studio Visit with Ali Banisadr, Artful Anywhere series by Artful (Via Zoom), June 16, 2020.
Speaker, Art Talk: Trevor Paglen in Conversation with Matthew Israel, 92nd Street Y, New York, January 22, 2019.
May 30, 2018. Panelist, alongside Lucy Lippard, Patricia Hills and Alejandro Anreus, on the occasion of “Rudolf Baranik: Napalm Elegies” exhibition at Ryan Lee, May 9, 2018.
Host, Jeff Koons and Hans Ulrich Obrist in Conversation, The Upper House, Hong Kong, March 28, 2018.
Moderator, JR and Jeffrey Deitch, as part of Armory Live programming, The Armory Show, March 11, 2018.
Host and Moderator, Panel Discussion on Lars Jan’s Slow-Moving Luminaries: 3rd Annual Audemars Piguet Art Commission at Art Basel. Featuring Lars Jan, Kathleen Forde and Michael Friedman, December 7, 2017.
Speaker, “Art World Renegades - How Artsy is Embracing Data and Turning the Art World on its Head,” Artsy, New York, NY, October 26, 2017.
Speaker, The Big Picture and Contemporary Art Now, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU for NYU Alumni Weekend, October 21, 2017.
Speaker, “Matthew Israel: The Big Picture,” Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., September 16, 2017.
Speaker, “Matthew Israel: The Big Picture,” Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, May 24, 2017.
Speaker, Gagosian Shop, New York, April 25, 2017.
Speaker, “Matthew Israel: The Big Picture,” Stanford University, Anderson Collection, April 20th, 2017.
Speaker, “Matthew Israel: The Big Picture,” Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, April 18, 2017.
Speaker, “Matthew Israel: The Big Picture,” Art Gallery of Ontario, April 8, 2017.
Book Signing, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, April 6, 2017.
Speaker, “The Big Picture | Nicholas Baume, Jens Hoffman, Adrienne Edwards, Matthew Israel, Arezoo Moseni and special guest | An Art Book Series Event,” The New York Public Library, New York, NY, March 29, 2017.
Speaker, National Art Educators Association Annual Conference, New York, March 2-4, 2017
Speaker. In conversation with artist Cynthia Daignault on the occasion of her exhibition at the Flag Art Foundation, Flag Art Foundation, New York, February 16, 2017.
Speaker, Walker Forum: Matthew Israel, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, January 19, 2017.
Panelist, “Access and Engagement,” Fourth Session of Institute of Fine Arts speaker series, “Crossing Boundaries,” Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, November 4, 2016.
Judge, Pulse Prize, Pulse Art Fair New York, March 3, 2016.
Moderator, “What's Next? Short Talks on the Future,” The Armory Show, March 4, 2016.
Panelist, “Digital Representation: Looking at Images Online” session at the conference, ”From Object to Audience: Technology, Value, and the Arts,” New York University Steinhardt Department of Art and Art Professions, November 20, 2015.
Instructor/Workshop leader, “Re: Curating Online,” School of Visual Arts MFA in Curatorial Practice, October 30, 2015.
Moderator, Hacking Arts Festival, panel on visual arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), September 26, 2015.
Speaker, “Peter Saul's Saigon,” Whitney Museum of American Art. Part of their “99 Objects” series. July 20, 2015.
Speaker, “Kill for Peace and Lucy Lippard's A Different War,” Independent Curators International, June 16, 2015.
Speaker, “Artsy and The Art Genome Project,” Union College, Schenectady, NY, May 20, 2015.
Interviewer, Book Launch for Suzanne Hudson's Painting Now, Artsy, April 25, 2015.
Participant, “10 x 10: 10 Curators Discuss The Future,” part of the “Perspectives” roundtable discussions hosted by the PULSE art fair, March 7, 2015.
Keynote, “7 Questions About Art History.” College Art Association Annual Conference Session, “What Have You Done for Art History Lately?“ February 13, 2015.
Speaker, “6 Ways Art Can Inform Innovation,” TEDx Melville, February 5th, 2015.
Guest Talk, “The Art Genome Project,” The Museum of Modern Art internal workshop on “The Connected Object,” November 7, 2014.
Moderator, “New Technologies, Human Experiences, Ethics: The Future of Design,” at Design Miami/ in Basel. Featuring Jamie Zigelbaum and Yves Béhar, June 18th, 2014.
Speaker, “SPARKS@Annalect Series: Artsy & Art Genome Project,” Annalect New York, May 28, 2014.
Speaker, “The Art Genome Project and Artsy's Educational Initiatives,” Columbia University Libraries Digital Program Division and the Digital Humanities Center, April 29, 2014.
Speaker, “On Art and Access,” MA Program in Art History, City College of New York, April 25, 2014.
Speaker, Columbia Initiative for Creativity and Culture in Action (CICCA), Columbia University, April 24, 2014.
Panelist, Pratt History of Art and Design's first Career Roundtable, Pratt Institute, April 23, 2014.
Closing Speaker, Mission Creek Festival, April 6, 2014.
Moderator, “The Future of Art History,” Institute of Fine Arts Recent Alumni event at Artsy, with Thomas Crow and Noemie Etienne, April 2, 2014.
Closing Plenary Speaker, Visual Resources Association Conference, March 14, 2014.
Panelist, “Communication Breakdown,” Museopunks Podcast Episode 11, with Beck Tench and Nancy Proctor, November 23, 2013.
Panel organizer and speaker, “How to Discover Art? On the Current State, Hardships, and Potential of Art Search,” Museum Computer Network Conference, November 23, 2013.
Panelist, “The Finely Curated Life,” Internet Week New York. May 22, 2013.
Guest lecturer, “The Art Genome Project and Artsy,” Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York. February 27, 2013.
Panel organizer and speaker, “On The Art Genome Project,” Artsy and The Art Genome Project, College Art Association Annual Conference, February 14, 2013
Panelist, Alumni Careers Panel, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, February 13, 2013.
Panelist, ”Arts and Tech Startups,” organized by The Whitney Museum of American Art Contemporaries group, February 12, 2013
Speaker, “On The Art Genome Project,” at The Harvard Advocate, Harvard University. Invited by The Advocate and the Harvard Art Museums Undergraduate Connection, November 30, 2012.
Speaker, “On The Art Genome Project,” at the Visual Resources Association’s New York Chapter meeting at ARTstor, November 15, 2012.
Speaker, “On The Art Genome Project and Art.sy,” DataGotham, September 14, 2012.
Speaker, “On The Art Genome Project,” General Assembly, October 16, 2011, for members of the Rhizome Council.
Artsy Programming (Talks and Exhibitions)
Host, Song Dong at Pace Gallery, London, October 3, 2019
Host, Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Grand Prize Winner Exhibition Opening, New York, NY, June 12, 2019
Host, Art Night Party (with Art Night and Phillips), London, May 23, 2019
Host, Studio Museum of Harlem Artist-in-Residence Open Studios, March 15, 2019
Curator, Installation by Chris Schanck, MGM Art Basel Miami Beach Event, December 6, 2018
Co-Host, Bombay Artisan Series Finalist Event, Miami, December 6, 2018
Host and Moderator, Conversation and Walkthrough with Elmgreen and Dragset, on the occasion of their exhibition of new work at Perrotin, Paris, October 16, 2018
Host, Pierre Huyghe and Hans Ulrich Obrist in Conversation, Serpentine Galleries, October 3, 2018
Host and Moderator, Premiere Screening of Kusama: Infinity and Q&A with director Heather Lenz, in partnership with David Zwirner, Metrograph, New York, September 6, 2018
Guest Judge, Bombay Artisan Series Montreal Finalist Event, Montreal, September 5, 2018
Host, Curator-led Walkthrough by Cory Arcangel and Tina Kukielski of “Difference Engine” at Lisson Gallery, New York, June 27, 2018
Host and Moderator, Conversation with Roger Gastman, Revok, and Shepard Fairey at “Beyond the Streets,” Los Angeles, June 20, 2018
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Matthew Brannon, Casey Kaplan Gallery, May 4, 2018
Curator, Artsy Vanguard exhibition at Bergdorf Goodman (in conjunction with Dior), May 2018
Host, Curator-led Walkthrough by Katherine Brodbeck of “Laura Owens” at Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, April 10, 2018
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Chris Schanck, Friedman Benda, New York, February 28, 2018
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Jose Davilá, Galería OMR, Mexico City, February 10, 2018
Host and Speaker, Studio visit and conversation with Kathryn Andrews, Los Angeles, January 24, 2018
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Teresita Fernández on the occasion of the launch of her monograph, Wayfinding, published by Prestel, Edition Hotel, Miami, December 8, 2017
Host, Artsy OnSite at Artsy Projects Miami, at the Bath Club, Miami; featuring Samara Golden, Jillian Mayer, and FlucT, December 7, 2017
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Mika Rottenberg at The Bass, Miami Beach, on the occasion of Rottenberg’s one-person exhibition; in partnership with American Express Business Centurion, December 4, 2017
Host, Walkthrough of the home and studio of Donald Judd, Judd Foundation at 101 Spring Street, New York, November 15, 2017
Host, Walkthrough by Xiaorui Zhu-Nowell and Kyung An of "Art and China After 1989: Theatre of the World,” Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, October 25, 2017
Organizer, Conversation between Neil Raitt and Lauren Bergman at Raitt’s exhibition, “Misty Rock,” October 11, 2017
Host and Speaker, Walkthrough of “Everything At Once” featuring Nicholas Logsdail, Ossian Ward and Greg Hilty (Lisson Gallery 50th Anniversary Exhibition), The Store, London, October 6, 2017 (in partnership with UBS SmartWealth)
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Hank Willis Thomas, Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, October 5, 2017
Organizer, Walkthrough by Nancy Lim of “Judy Chicago: Pussies,” Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, September 27, 2017
Organizer, Walkthrough by Hyon Gyon, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong, September 14, 2017
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Tony Cragg, on the occasion of his exhibition at Marian Goodman Gallery, September 11, 2017
Organizer, Conversation between Analia Saban and Christine Kim, on the occasion of Saban’s exhibition “Folds and Faults,” Sprueth Magers, Los Angeles, July 12, 2017
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Richard Misrach and performance by Guillermo Galindo, on the occasion of their exhibition, “Border Cantos,” Pace Gallery and Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, June 28, 2017
Host and Speaker, Conversation and Studio Visit with Random International, courtesy of Pace Gallery, London, England, June 22, 2017 (in partnership with UBS SmartWealth)
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Isca Greenfield-Sanders, on the occasion of her exhibition, “Keep Them Still,” Ameringer|McEnery|Yohe, New York, May 31, 2017
Organizer, Conversation between Aaron Moulton and participating artists at the group exhibition “Concrete Island,” VENUS, Los Angeles, May 18, 2017
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Ali Banisadr, on the occasion of his exhibition, “Trust in the Future,” Sperone Westwater, New York, May 11, 2017 (in partnership with Alain Mikli)
Host and Speaker, Conversation and Studio Visit with Adam Pendleton, courtesy of Pace Gallery, Brooklyn, May 9, 2017
Organizer, Conversation between Genevieve Gaignard and Erin Christovale, on the occasion of Gaignard’s exhibition, “The Powder Room,” Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, April 27, 2017
Host and Speaker, Conversation and Studio visit with Sam Moyer, courtesy of Sean Kelly Gallery, Brooklyn, April 24, 2017
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Alicia McCarthy, on the occasion of her exhibition at Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, April 19, 2017
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Thiago Rocha Pitta, Marianne Boesky, New York, March 30, 2017
Organizer, Walkthrough by Erwin Wurm of his exhibition, “Ethics demonstrated in geometrical order,” Lehmann Maupin, New York, March 29, 2017
Host and Speaker, Conversation and studio visit with FAILE, Brooklyn, February 27, 2017
Organizer, Walkthrough by Faye Toogood of her one-person exhibition at Friedman Benda, New York, NY
Host and Speaker, Walkthrough of “A Woman’s Afterlife” by Edward Bleiberg and a visit to the Conservation Lab with Lisa Bruno, Brooklyn Museum, New York, February 8, 2017
Host and Speaker, Walkthrough of one-person exhibitions of Emil Lukas and Katherine Bradford with the artists, Sperone Westwater, New York, January 25, 2017
Organizer, Conversation between Hugo McCloud and Isolde Brielmaier on the occasion of “Hugo McCloud: Veiled” at Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, January 19, 2017
Host and Moderator, Conversation between Sarah Reisman and Samuel Levi Jones, on the occasion of “Burning All Illusion,” Galerie Lelong, Galerie Lelong, New York, December 10, 2016
Host and Speaker, Private screening of “Ozara and Katessa” by Kalup Linzy and discussion with the artist, Electronic Arts Intermix, New York, December 7, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Awol Erizku on the occasion of “I Was Going to Call It Your Name, but You Didn't Let Me,” Nina Johnson, Miami, December 2, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Walead Beshty, de la Cruz Collection, Miami, November 30, 2016
Organizer, Walkthrough of “Roll Call: 11 artists from L.A.” with Gaijin Fujita, Alex Kizu, Patrick Martinez, and Chaz Bojorquez, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, November 15, 2016
Organizer, Performance by Double Diamond Sun Body on the occasion of their exhibition, “Saffron Crow's Associate,” MAMA, Los Angeles, November 14, 2016
Host and Speaker, Walkthrough of “Pierre Sabatier” with the artist’s family, Magen H Gallery, New York, November 2, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with R. Luke DuBois at his exhibition, “The Choice is Yours,” bitforms gallery, New York, October 27, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Barry Schwabsky, on the occasion of “Ellen Cantor,” Foxy Production, New York, October 20, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Simon Starling on the occasion of his exhibition, “At Twilight,” Japan Society, New York, October 17, 2016
Host and Moderator, Conversation between Toby Ziegler and Lev Manovich on the occasion of “Toby Ziegler: Post-human paradise,” October 6, 2016
Host, Walkthrough by Ben Borthwick and Gabriel Coxhead of “Natural Light, Blue Light Room,” Blain|Southern, London, October 5, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Caitlin Keogh at her exhibition, “Loose Ankles,” at Bortolami Gallery, New York, September 27, 2016
Host, Panel discussion with Kathryn Andrews, Lisa Wainwright, John Yau, and Dan Nadel on the occasion of “Roger Brown: Pop Artist,” Kavi Gupta, Chicago, September 24, 2016
Host, Walkthrough of “The Keeper” with curator Natalie Bell, New Museum, New York, September 16, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Misha Kahn, Artsy Projects at SIXTY LES, New York, July 19, 2016
Organizer, Walkthrough with Grear Patterson at his exhibition, “True Romance,” Marlborough Contemporary, London, June 22, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Andile Dyalvane at his first exhibition at Friedman Benda, New York, June 22, 2016
Host and Speaker, Talk to celebrate the launch of “For Freedoms,” the first artist-run super PAC, with Hank Willis Thomas, Eric Gottesman, and other participating artists, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, June 8, 2016
Host, Walkthrough by Chris Wiley and Andrianna Campbell of “Lee Mullican,” James Cohan Gallery, New York, June 2, 2016
Organizer, Walkthrough by Peles Empire, “1 EYE 2 EYES,” Wentrup, Berlin, April 30, 2016
Organizer, Walkthrough by Jean-Baptiste Bernadet of his exhibition, “So Far So Close,” Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels, April 22, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with curator Sophie Hackett (Art Gallery of Ontario) at Thomas Ruff: “press++,” David Zwirner Gallery, New York, April 16, 2016
Organizer, Walkthrough by Enrico Marco Cinzano at his new exhibition at Pearl Lam Design, Hong Kong, March 19, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Taryn Simon at her exhibition, “Paperwork and the Will of Capital,” Gagosian Gallery, New York, March 8, 2016
Host and Moderator, Panel discussion on Peter Hujar with Fran Lebowitz, Vince Aletti, Gary Schneider, and Joel Smith, on the occasion of “Peter Hujar: Lost Downtown,” a collaborative exhibition between Pace/MacGill and Paul Kasmin Gallery, Hotel Americano, New York, February 2, 2016
Host and Speaker, Studio visit with Nathan Mabry, Cherry and Martin, Los Angeles, January 27, 2016
Organizer, Panel discussion with The Haas Brothers, Cliff Fong, and Bobbye Tigerman on the history of lighting in Los Angeles; in conjunction with “A Case Study in Lighting,” Seomi International Case Study House 21, Los Angeles, January 21, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Toyin Ojih Odutola, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, January 21, 2016
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Daniel Heidkamp, Pace Prints, New York, December 9, 2015
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Cynthia Daignault, Lisa Cooley, New York, November 4, 2015
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Karl Haendel, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York, October 23, 2015
Organizer, Walkthrough by Elmgreen & Dragset, “Self-Portraits,” Victoria Miro, London, October 15, 2015
Organizer, Studio visit with Kadar Brock, New York, October 8, 2015
Organizer, Walkthrough by Jens Hoffmann of “Adrian Villar Rojas,” Marian Goodman, New York, October 6, 2015
Host and Speaker, Studio and Gallery conversation with Adam Fuss, courtesy Cheim & Read, New York, October 1, 2015
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Thaddeus Wolfe, R & Company, New York, September 29, 2015
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, bitforms gallery, New York, September 17, 2015
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Will Ryman, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, September 15, 2015
Organizer, Walkthrough by Curator Aaron Moulton of “Theories on Forgetting,” Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles, July 15, 2015
Organizer, Studio visit with Michael Sailstorfer, Koenig Gallery, Berlin, July 13, 2015
Organizer, Studio visit with Jason Bailer Losh, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, June 30th, 2015
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Diana Al-Hadid in her studio, courtesy Marianne Boesky, New York, June 24th, 2015
Organizer, Walkthrough of “Liza Ryan: Wind(shield)” and “Max Hooper Schneider: Accidental Menagerie” with the artists, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, May 28th, 2015
Host and Speaker, Conversation with Patrick Wilson, Ameringer|McEnery|Yohe, New York, May 27th, 2015
Organizer, Walkthrough by Dr. Eva Karcher of “Marc Quinn: Frozen Garden,” Galerie Thomas Modern, Munich, May 19th, 2015
Organizer, Walkthrough of “Eric Baudart: again, again and again,” Edouard Malingue Gallery, Hong Kong, May 16, 2015
Host, Walkthrough of “In the Studio” by John Elderfield, Gagosian Gallery, New York, April 6, 2015