As a young man in Naples, Golia studied chemical engineering, learning about the transformation of raw materials into powerful energy sources.
[3] Retaining ties to his Italian roots, Golia was selected to represent Italy at the Biennale di Venezia in 2013.
He then invited visitors to “mine” the sculpture for gold, a social proposition that would transform the physical form and monetary value of the work independent of the artist's own direct actions.
During the closing celebration of the four-month-long Dallas installation,Golia hired a mariachi band, arranged a fireworks display, and commissioned a large stage curtain printed with the iconic closing sequence from Looney Tunes cartoons, with the words “That’s All Folks!” His immediately recognizable Mariachi Painting series (2016), made from cut and stretched swatches of the Chalet Dallas curtain, serve as relics of this spectacular event.
Since 2005, the program has evolved into a forum where hundreds of students have received instruction from guest faculty including the artists Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand, Simone Forti, Dan Graham, Mark Grotjahn, Pierre Huyghe, Catherine Opie, Jeff Wall, and many others"[10] Golia's work is represented in public collections internationally, including: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Berggruen Institute, Los Angeles, CA; Kadist Foundation, San Francisco, CA; Museo Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico; Fondazione Morra Greco, Naples, Italy;[11] Nomas Foundation, Rome, Italy; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, León, Spain; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX.