Lee Moriarty Unmasks a Softer Side of Luchadores in 'Balance'
The debut solo exhibition by the artist and pro-wrestler.
Following his breakout presentation at NADA Miami last winter, Lee Moriarty returns with Balance, his debut solo exhibition, opening at Night Gallery on September 27. Curated by Adam Abdalla, the eight-piece presentation turns the spotlight away from the ring and onto the off-duty lives of luchadores, trading high-flying bravado for introspective moments of repose and reflection.
Taking cues from his own lucha libre career, having studied the technical llave style in Mexico, Moriarty approaches his subjects with an insider perspective, and through this dual vantage, grapples with themes of identity, performance and what he calls the “underexplored duality within the lives of pro wrestlers.”
In Balance, Moriarty taps into the tension of in-between states – armor and vulnerability, spectacle and self. By resisting the simply binaries of hero and villain, the artist nurtures a space where the larger-than-life personas of the ring give way to something more disarming, more tender and unexpectedly human.
Balance will be on view from September 17 through October 18 in Night Gallery’s Chapel Viewing Room.
