The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery is pleased to present “From Here to the Sun,” a mixed-media exhibition by Champaign-based artist Lee Hunter. “From Here to the Sun” will open Monday, Aug. 26 and run through Thursday, Sept. 19. A reception for this exhibition will be held at the gallery from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5. This event is free and open to the public.

This solo exhibition focuses on the legacy of Mithras, a deity worshipped in the mystery cults of the late Roman Empire. Mithras’ followers practiced in secret and many of their temples were later converted into early Christian churches, leaving much of their rituals shrouded in mystery.

Hunter’s works in this exhibition draw on the nature of Mithras, telling a story through ceramics, needlepoint and textiles. The ceramics reflect the timelessness of relics while the needlepoint and textiles offer a tactile connection to the past. “From Here to the Sun” prompts viewers to explore the intersections of history, myth and art. It pays tribute to the enduring mystery of Mithras and highlights Hunter’s interest in materials.

“From Here to the Sun” is an iteration of Hunter’s ongoing world-building project called “Cosmogenesis,” which is an archive of material culture from the future, where travel-cults have learned to move through parallel universes. There is a diverse spectrum of belief systems in the travel cults and “Cosmogenesis” focuses mainly on the Temple of Light—a group inspired by ancient mystery cults and Western Esotericism. The archive contains photographs, videos, needlework, textiles, sculptures, found objects, works on paper and texts. “Cosmogenesis” explores ideas related to archives, collecting, materials and belief.

Hunter is a visual artist focused on the human relationship to nature; or how humans think about nature. Since 2015, they have been working on a durational worlding project called Cosmogenesis that includes photos, videos, sculptures, textiles, found objects and writing. Hunter is interested in how people know what they know and learning about how belief systems are formed.

Hunter’s work has been exhibited at Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art, Buffalo, New York; Mother Gallery, Beacon, New York; John Michael Kohler Art Center, Wisconsin; The Luminary, St. Louis, Missouri; Vox Populi, Pennsylvania; Berkeley Art Center, California; and Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Florida. They have been an artist in residence at Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, Nebraska; Palazzo Monti, Italy; Illinois State University, Bloomington; ACRE, Wisconsin; I-Park Foundation, Connecticut; and Vermont Studio Center, Vermont. Hunter earned a bachelor’s degree in arts and letters from Portland State University and a master’s degree in fine art in new genres from the San Francisco Art Institute.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, room 201 (HSB 201). Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For more information and future exhibitions, visit the UIS Visual Arts Gallery website.

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