Guadalupe Maravilla
Guadalupe Maravilla (b. 1976 in San Salvador, El Salvador) grounds his sculpture, painting, performance, and large-scale installation in activism and healing, informed by his personal story of migration, illness, and recovery. At the age of eight, Maravilla fled El Salvador’s civil war as an unaccompanied minor and made a perilous journey through Central America to reunite with family in the United States. In the 2010s, Maravilla was diagnosed with colon cancer—an illness he links to generational trauma and the stresses of being undocumented—and during the recovery process, he was introduced to ancient methods of healing, including the use of sound. This life event shifted Maravilla’s practices, and he has since worked tirelessly to raise awareness of trauma and expand access to healing, nurturing collective narratives with a sense of perseverance and humanity.
This exhibition presents a selection of recent sculptures and paintings by Maravilla. At its center is Mariposa Relámpago (Lightning Butterfly), a newly commissioned work for the ICA Watershed and the artist’s largest sculpture to date. Mariposa Relámpago is part of the artist’s Disease Thrower series—sculptures that incorporate natural materials, handmade objects, and items collected by the artist while retracing his migratory route to become shrines and healing instruments. Every sculpture includes metal gongs that are activated by the artist during public sound baths to deploy the powers of vibrational sound as a form of healing. Maravilla’s artworks contain a cosmology of potent symbols and objects that connect the artist’s personal journey with ancient practices of the indigenous Mayan peoples; diverse spiritual and folk beliefs; and contemporary crises of disease, ecology, and war. We invite you to explore this exhibition and come back for one of the many programs offered in collaboration with East Boston organizations and individuals who support community healing and well-being.
Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago is organized by Ruth Erickson, Mannion Family Senior Curator, with Yutong Shi, Curatorial Assistant.
Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Guadalupe Maravilla, Disease Thrower #00, 2023. Gong, steel, wood, cotton, glue mixture, plastic, loofah, and objects collected from a ritual of retracing the artist’s original migration route, 102 x 140 x 88 inches (259.1 x 355.6 x 223.5 cm). Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Guadalupe Maravilla, Disease Thrower #0, 2023. Gong, hammock, LCD TV, ceremonial ash, pyrite crystals, volcanic rock, steel, wood, cotton, glue mixture, plastic, loofah, and objects collected from a ritual of retracing the artist’s original migration route, 118 x 123 x 64 inches (299.7 x 312.4 x 162.6 cm). Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Guadalupe Maravilla, Disease Thrower #00, 2023. Gong, steel, wood, cotton, glue mixture, plastic, loofah, and objects collected from a ritual of retracing the artist’s original migration route, 102 x 140 x 88 inches (259.1 x 355.6 x 223.5 cm). Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Guadalupe Maravilla, Migratory Birds Riding the Celestial Serpent, 2021. Mixed media sculpture with maguey leaves, glue mixture and objects collected from a ritual of retracing the artist’s original migration route, 131 x 303 x 13 ½ inches (332.7 x 769.6 x 34.3 cm). Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Guadalupe Maravilla, Migratory Birds Riding the Celestial Serpent, 2021. Mixed media sculpture with maguey leaves, glue mixture and objects collected from a ritual of retracing the artist’s original migration route, 131 x 303 x 13 ½ inches (332.7 x 769.6 x 34.3 cm). Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Guadalupe Maravilla, Mariposa Relámpago, 2023. Mixed media, approx. 13 x 8.5 x 35 ft (3.96 x 2.59 x 10.67 m). Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Guadalupe Maravilla, Mariposa Relámpago, 2023. Mixed media, approx. 13 x 8.5 x 35 ft (3.96 x 2.59 x 10.67 m). Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Portrait of the artist for Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Portrait of the artist for Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023. Photo by Mel Taing.
Their’s wasn’t a migration of better opportunity. They weren’t pursing the “American Dream,” whatever that is.
Take the water shuttle over to the ICA’s Eastie outpost and explore the new Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago exhibit. At its center is Mariposa Relámpago (Lightning Butterfly), a newly commissioned work for the ICA Watershed and the artist’s largest sculpture to date.
The artist’s traumatic journey from El Salvador to the US pervades his work, but his intention is repair.