Eduardo Abaroa examines aspects of impermanence, history and the socio-political fabric of society through his artistic practice. He reimagines iconic works and powerful cultural symbols–seeking to dismantle notions of monumentality and modernity. Found in the intersection of sculpture, installation and performance, his practice has an immediacy that playfully evades the preciousness associated with the art object. He avoids traditional 'fine art' connotations by working with unusual material and inexpensive everyday objects: from port-a-potties, tarp and the rubble of demolished buildings, to junk jewelry, cotton swabs, straws and plastic bottles. Abaroa's site-specific projects seek to undermine the authority of Mexican cultural institutions along with their official narrative and ultra-nationalistic ideology. By juxtaposing various ideological, aesthetic and cultural traditions, the artist offers an incisive point of view, deeply critical of the economic and social structures that govern our society.
Read MoreAbaroa completed his BFA at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas (UNAM) in 1992 and MFA from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 2001. In 1993, the artist was a founding member of the artist-run space Temístocles 44 in Mexico City. He was artist in residence at FLORA ars+natura in Bogota (2014) and Corcoran Gallery in Washington (2012). In 2011 he was director of the IX International Symposium on Contemporary Art Theory (SITAC) in Mexico City. Abaroa has contributed exhibition catalog texts for many notable artists in Mexico, as well as columns and reviews for several journals and publications. He has been the recipient of many grants and awards including, premio artes visuales Sociedad Internacional de Valores de Arte Mexicano (SIVAM) in 2006 and 2005, Sistema Nacional de Creadores from the Mexican Ministry of Culture, and Fulbright Scholarship, both in 2004.
Eduardo Abaroa lives and works in Mexico City.
