Following increasing interest in his work, we dedicate an artist spotlight to Israel Meza Morena, otherwise known as Moris.

Moris, 'Las Ratas Muertas No Abren La Boca' (Dead rats don't open mouth), 2014

Israel Meza Morena, otherwise known as Moris, is a Mexican artist whose work poignantly reveals the socio-economic conditions and political problems that permeate Mexican society.

We first came across Moris’ work at the Arroniz Arte Contemporaneo booth at the 2011 Zona Maco art fair in Mexico. After some exploration of the Mexican art scene and particularly works offered at Arroniz, we acquired ‘Macho Alfa’ in July 2013. In March 2014 we acquired two additional Moris works from the Baro Gallery booth at the Armory art fair in New York.

Moris works are currently on display in group exhibitions at Galerie Michael Sturm, Stuttgart; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York. He will  be participating in 'Limited Visibility', an exhibition of works from the collection of Randy Shull and Hedy Fischer, due to open in October 2014 at the Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, North Carolina. A solo exhibition of Moris’ work will also open at Sala De Arte Público Siqueiros, Mexico City, in September 2014.

Born in 1978 in Mexico City, Moris’ work revolves around an investigation of power relations and the lack of access to basic urban services that were an intrinsic part of his daily life in childhood and that of a great many Mexicans, causing widespread marginalization in society. This exploration has created an ‘investigation laboratory’ that has evolved not in the studio, but out on the streets where Moris collects his ‘data’.

Moris takes cardboard, wood scraps, old tires and rusty sheet metal from Mexico City’s poorest neighborhoods into the gallery setting, reconstructing the ramps, walls and other architectural stuructures with this amassed garbage. The struggle for survival that Moris’ creations reflect, are in dramatic contrast to the stylish high life which Mexico City’s contemporary art scene is unmistakably a part of.

Moris, 'No Quieras Cazar Al Cazador' (You don't want to hunt the hunter), 2013

Moris experiences specific sentiments when collecting his objects. These form the substance of his final works.  Weaving his way through the city, the artist moves with an increasing sensitivity to his surroundings, positioning himself as artist come anthropologist, sociologist and archaeologist.

Moris holds a BFA from the National School of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, La Esmeralda, National Institute of Fine Arts, Mexico City and has been consistently exhibiting at prominent galleries and institutions at home in Mexico and internationally: Museo de Arte Carillo Gill, Mexico, 2013, Baro Galeria, Brazil, 2012, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2010 and at the 9^th Biennial of Havana, Cuba, 2006.