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Matthew Troyer (b. 1988) is an artist, visual anthropologist, educator, and former U.S. Marine Corps Combat Photographer whose work critically examines the enduring impact of war and militarization on individuals, communities, and culture. Working through a multimodal practice rooted in photography, he integrates video, sound, and sculptural installation to explore how narratives of conflict shape memory, identity, and the American imagination. Drawing on his experience as a veteran, Troyer investigates the cultural forces that frame the legacy of war, prompting reflection on its continued presence in everyday life and consumer culture.​

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Troyer received his BFA, with honors, in Photography and Imaging from Ringling College of Art and Design in 2022 and an MFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2024.  He will receive his MA in Visual Anthropology from the University of Manchester, England in 2026.

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Education and Training

  • MA, Visual Anthropology, University of Manchester, England, 2026 (projected)

  • MFA, Studio Art, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2024 

  • BFA, Photography & Imaging, with Honors, Ringling College of Art & Design, Sarasota, Fla., 2022 

  • Media Instructor Trainer Course, Defense Information School, Fort Meade, M.d., 2014 

  • Intermediate Photojournalism Course, Defense Information School, Fort Meade, M.d., 2013 

  • Intermediate Information Operations Practitioners Course, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, 2013 

  • Department of Labor, Journeyman Photographer Certificate, 2012 

  • Combat Camera Photography & Extreme Climate Workshop, Camp Johnson, N.C., 2009 

  • Basic Still Photography Course, Defense Information School, Fort Meade, M.d., 2009 

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Selected Exhibitions

  • The Soldier's Lens, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa, Fla., 2025

  • Then and There, Here and Now: Contemporary Visions of North Carolina, N.C. Museum of Art, Raleigh, N.C., 2025

  • The Uniformed States of America, Greensboro Project Space, Greensboro, N.C., 2025

  • FRESH Group Exhibition, Artspace, Raleigh, N.C., 2024

  • Playing at War, Center For Study Of the American South, Love House, N.C., 2024

  • A Product Of Its Environment, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, N.C., 2024

  • The Uniformed States of America, Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh, N.C., 2024

  • (REMIX): Domestic Materiality, A.D. Gallery, Pembroke, N.C., 2024

  • EMERGE 2023, Midwest Center for Photography, Wichita, K.S., 2023

  • Playing At War, Solo Exhibition, John and June Allcott Gallery, Chapel Hill, N.C., 2023

  • A Tell Tale, PEEL Gallery, Carborro, N.C., 2023

  • BASEMENT x Peel, BASEMENT, Chapel Hill, N.C., 2022

  • Collateral Damage Project, Pyle Center, Madison, Wis., 2022

  • Here + Now, Gallery 263, Cambridge, Mass., 2022

  • The Past Upon Us, Project Space 340, Sarasota, Fla., 2022

  • #NewVisions 2022, Texas Photographic Society, Houston, Tx, 2022

  • CAPTURED, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, Calif., 2022

  • Group Exhibition 2021, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, Vt., 2021

  • The Artist Intervenes, Praxis Photo Arts Center, Minneapolis, Minne., 2021 

  • War Paint: Profiles of Courage, Project Space 340, Sarasota, Fla., 2020, 2021

  • Creative Quarterly’s top 100 Artists (Top 25 Photographers) of 2018, YUI Gallery, New York, NY., 2019

 

Selected Publications​

 

Selected Awards & Grants

  • Humanities Postgraduate Scholarship, University of Manchester, 2025

  • CVPA EDIA Grant, UNC Greensboro, 2025

  • Student Award for Innovative Imaging, Society of Photographic Education, 2024

  • Emerging Artist, Midwest Center for Photography, 2023 ​

  • Trustee Scholar, Photography & Imaging, Ringling College of Art & Design, 2022

  • Top 100 Artists (Top 25 Photographers), Creative Quarterly, 2020

  • 3rd Place - Press/Personality, “Portrait of a Priest”, International Photography Awards, 2019

  • Top 100 Artists (Top 25 Photographers), Creative Quarterly, 2018

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