Art Moura

In turns immutable and beguilingly fragile, Art Moura’s newest work straddles the line between earthy naturalism and exquisite vulnerability - The Good Luck Gallery is thrilled to welcome Moura back for his second solo exhibition opening October 21.
Through his signature “dolls,” evocative of Puerto Rican muñecas de trapo (spirit dolls) and West African Orishas (deities), Moura confronts his own Azorean Portuguese ancestry via a reimagining of the Festas do Espírito Santo, or Feast of the Holy Spirit. Hexagonal gingham remnants form entomic eyes, a tangle of doll limbs sprout kaleidoscopic crowns, and masked wraiths cling to fractured canine cohorts. Moura’s cheekily named dolls are equal parts ancient Franciscan idealism and playful personal reflection.

Free of affect, Moura transports upcycling into the divine and - characteristic of his visionary artist approach - lets his found materials inform the pieces progression as he dyes, sews, weaves, and glues, stopping only when the doll indicates that it is complete.
In addition to his hybrid-assemblage mixed media dolls, Moura’s tapestries will be on display for the first time. Created using discarded familial remnants, Moura’s tapestries playfully invert childhood recollections as they add a new dimension to his oeuvre. Elusive, startling, and undeniably powerful, Art Moura delivers the viewer to an esoteric realm where spirit and pragmatism join, with potent results.