Opening Reception: December 5, 2025 6-9 PM

On View: December 5 – March 7, 2025

Mis Manos.
Mi Tierra.
Mis Antepasados.

What you see before your eyes is not art, it is life becoming.

The promise of all that is good in the world, the culmination of
human hopes and aspirations resonating through the ages.

Past
Present
Future
All distilled into one.
The essence of pure spiritual desire made manifest by hand.

Offerings create a relationship between people and landscape, between the present and the past. A Él Mismo is an offering that proposes a reimagined timeline where Spanish colonization of what is now called Latino America hadn’t occurred. Instead, these objects provide a glimpse to the possibilities of what Pre-Hispanic cultures might have looked like had they had the chance to thrive into the 21st century without the violence of erasure and extraction. Born out of reflections of my families’ immigration to the United States from Cali, Colombia, through Mexico in 1985, this became the altar for my practice. The world is brought to life through portraits of mi Abuela, mi Abuelo, mi Mama, mi hermano, y, yo mismo, giving flesh to the ancestors, while honoring those that lead to my being here.

Yoga Session

Immerse yourself in the spirit of rest and relaxation with yoga for all in the Mills Gallery, surrounded by the striking works of Christian Hernan de Restrepo. This session is guided by a certified yoga expert, offering a unique experience of movement and mindfulness among the art.

There are two different sessions: please use the link to RSVP for one of the sessions.
Session 1: 6-7 PM
Session 2: 7-8 PM

RSVP HERE

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Tunjos Workshop + Artist Talk

Tunjos are small votive objects created by the Muisca as offerings to their gods, traditionally cast in tumbaga (a gold/silver/copper alloy) using the lost-wax method. In this workshop, explore the process and make your own tunjos using a variety of materials.

THEN, Join artist Christian Hernán De Restrepo and curator Heather McGrath for an artist talk through A Él Mismo, and how they collaborated through this collection.

RSVP HERE

Christian Hernán De Restrepo Zúñiga Velázquez Betancourt, is a Boston-based, first generation Colombian American maker who explores the intersection of opposing worlds and the Self, by joining unusual and mundane materials to create a cohesive whole from disparate parts.

Through a votive, ritualistic process, De Restrepo weaves hand-worked textiles, primarily expanding the possibilities of his signature stapled fabric, la tela engradapa. By transforming the textiles into objects that border sculpture and fabric, he echoes the beliefs and technical artistry of his ancestors’ metalwork and their respect for materials and process.

Heather McGrath is a commercial and fine art photographer in Boston. She has been published worldwide, her fine art has exhibited in the US and Canada. Whether it is through film or photography, McGrath explores narratives around people facing their shadows. Her work captures moments that are beautiful and still as well as violent and terrifying. In this duality, McGrath encapsulates the journey of life and posits a new truth – we must weather the storm to find peace within ourselves.

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