Lee Moriarty is the real deal in the art world.
On Friday, a press release was issued to announce that Pérez Art Museum Miami has acquired art work by Lee Moriarty, marking the historic first museum acquisition by an active pro wrestler.
Check out the complete announcement with all of the details below.
Pérez Art Museum Miami Acquires Work by Lee Moriarty, Marking First Museum Acquisition by an Active Pro Wrestler
Moriarty’s portraits explore the intimate lives of professional wrestlers outside the ring
(New York, NY — May 22, 2025) — Orange Crush, the bi-annual publication celebrating wrestling and contemporary art, is pleased to announce that the Pérez Art Museum Miami has acquired a work by professional wrestler and artist Lee Moriarty for its permanent collection. Moriarty is the first active professional wrestler to have their artwork acquired by a major museum. This fall, Moriarty will present his first solo gallery exhibition at Night Gallery in Los Angeles, featuring all new paintings.
The painting, Summer Garden Selfie, 2024 is a jarringly intimate portrait of a luchador adorned in a pink mask and surrounded by delicate foliage – offering a nuanced and atypical depiction of the sport and grappling with themes of masculinity, emotion, and performance.
Moriarty’s work joins sixteen other recent acquisitions at PAMM, placing it in distinguished company alongside pieces by Judy Chicago, Vija Celmins, and Chico da Silva. The acquisition aligns with the museum’s ongoing mission to collect and present work that reflects the cultural and social dynamics of our time. Moriarty’s inclusion in this collection reflects this vision, highlighting the intersection of performance, sports, identity, and visual art.
Born in Pittsburgh in 1994, Moriarty performs regularly on All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and is the current Ring of Honor Pure Champion. He also competes with Jersey Championship Wrestling, a grassroots promotion led by Orange Crush founder Adam Abdalla. Pro Wrestling Illustrated has ranked him among the 50 best wrestlers in the world.
Most recently, Orange Crush presented a standout debut of Moriarty’s paintings at NADA Miami 2024, drawing interest from artnet News, The New York Post, and The Miami Herald. His work explores the often-overlooked duality of professional wrestling, depicting masked wrestlers not in the ring, but in moments of quiet leisure and introspection. Some don suits in front of a floral pattern, or appreciate a barbeque in a private garden. Moriarty’s subjects reflect a softer, more contemplative side of life—one that exists in contrast to the intensity of the ring, yet is essential to the well-being of full time fighters like Moriarty.
As a magazine dedicated to the art of wrestling, Orange Crush has activated exhibitions, pop ups, and collaborations across the world, including New York, Tokyo, and Miami. Abdalla recently released a book of wrestling photographs by storied imagemaker Nick Karp titled VISITORS, which was covered by Hypebeast, VICE, Sports Illustrated, Wallpaper*, and Sabukaru. He curated three separate exhibitions of the works from VISITORS at the Trunk Hotel in Shibuya, Tokyo in August, 2024; in New York City at NADA’s East Broadway space in May, 2024; and Showboat in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He is dedicated to overcoming the divide between the artworld and the violent sport through promoting the underrecognized artwork by wrestlers, and showing the creativity of the sport itself.
ABOUT LEE MORIARTY
Lee Moriarty (b. 1994, Pittsburgh) is an American artist and professional wrestler performing regularly on All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on TNT as well as TBS, and sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). Moriarty has been ranked as the 47th-best grappler on the planet by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and currently holds the title of ROH Pure Champion. His presentation at NADA Miami 2024 in collaboration with Orange Crush marked his public debut as a visual artist. He will have his first gallery solo exhibition with Night Gallery in Los Angeles in September 2025. Artistically, Moriarty’s work often depicts wrestlers in repose, including intimate portraits of luchador icons like El Santo and Blue Demon. The art reflects an often underexplored duality within the lives of pro wrestlers, resonating with Moriarty’s own multi-hyphenate talent.
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT
At the world's top exhibition of emerging contemporary art, NADA Miami, Orange Crush will be participating for the first time.
We will be debuting the first painting exhibition of Lee Moriarty!
Dec 3–7 at the Ice Palace
More soon!https://t.co/v9Na1hRUNE pic.twitter.com/OPb9lT9kqb
— ORANGE CRUSH (@orangecrushart) September 24, 2024
