The inspiration for Eduardo Sarabia’s installation derives from his ongoing quest to find the hidden gold of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. Desperately sought after but never discovered — despite frantic and exhaustive searches of the Mazatlán mountains by his grandfather — the mystery of secret gold and the map showing its location has existed in Sarabia’s family for over half a century. The quest to find the treasure has remained a major focus and fascination for the artist who has
transformed the story into an elaborate and compelling work. The
contrast between the formal properties of the installation — Mexican
stereotypes presented in the manner of religius statuary — and the
content of the work — myth borne out of historical fact — underscores the complexities of reality versus perception. Sarabia’s potent installation examines the many guises of Mexico’s political identity, from the romantic to the corrupt, and explores the artist’s own Mexican roots and his relationship to Los Angeles, where he grew up. Above all, the work looks at the persistent and spiritual magnetism of an ancestral homeland and the dreams and obsessions it inspires.


Selected solo exhibitions: 2003: I-20, New York; 2002: Museum of Art, Santa Monica; 2001: I-20, New York.
Selected group exhibitions: 2003: Harlem Postcards II, The Studio Museum of Harlem, New York; Works for Giovanni, China Art Objects, Los Angeles; 2002: Roots, PAGEA, Naples; 2001: I Love New York, I-20, New York; Luminous Wonders of the Electronic World, New Langton Arts, San Francisco.