“Behind The Hills“
Opening : 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Saturday. November, 1st.
Public Viewing: November 1st to November 29th, 2025
Address: 2220 Commerce Street #D, Houston, TX 77002
Mitochondria Gallery is honored to present Behind the Hills, a group exhibition co-curated by Rwandan artist, Dusabe King Christian, and Mitochondria Gallery. The exhibition explores the cultural significance and daily life of Rwanda, offering a deeply emotional perspective through the eyes of artists who reflect the spirit of the Rwandan people. It celebrates Rwanda’s rich cultural heritage and identity, inviting artists to explore and reinterpret the essence of Rwandan culture through contemporary art.
By highlighting the stories, traditions, and shared memories that shape Rwanda, the exhibition creates a space for reflection, preservation, and meaningful dialogue. It seeks to connect Rwanda’s past with its present, honoring its legacy while encouraging artists to engage with its cultural roots in innovative and thought-provoking ways. Ultimately, the exhibition aims to deepen the understanding of Rwanda’s identity and its ever-evolving narrative in today’s world.
The exhibition features new works by Rwandan artists Kayimahe Zed, Bless Ainé, Niyomugabo Benjamin, Nizeyimana Claude, and Manzi Leon.
EXHIBITED WORKS
Inquire
Dusabe King Christian
Dusabe King Christian (b. 1996) is a visual artist based in Kigali, Rwanda. He showed an interest in art at an early age, and in 2015, he attended Ecole d’Arts de Nyundo. In 2017, he began his journey of telling stories through his artworks.
Dusabe’s work can be described as contemporary figurative, portraiture, and abstract. His style has evolved over time to become more exploratory in terms of color and shape, although human figures and portraits remain his primary subjects. He paints using oil, acrylic, and watercolor.
Artist Statement:
Dusabe King Christian’s practice explores the multifaceted layers of social identity and personal and familial homages through the immaculate study of ephemeral compositions of discontinuous memories. While contemplating the intimate impact of familial backgrounds on his life, his dexterity has been propelled toward bridging the emotional states and memories, seeking to demystify the purpose of nostalgia.
Nostalgia serves as the impetus behind his work—either as proof of an elected artificial construct that overwrites the present with the past or as a transfigured perspective that is allegorically precursive of catharsis.
Resume
EDUCATION
Ecole d’arts de Nyundo, Certificate in Graphic arts and illustrations. 2015-2017
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS:
2024 “Interlude Rwanda,” King’s Palace Museum, Nyanza Rwanda
2023 “Art in Spite of Everything“- Museum of African Art Belgrade, Serbia
TRIENNIAL:
2024 “Kigali 2024 Triennale,” Organised by Rwanda Initiative Rwanda
FAIRS:
2025 Atlanta Art Fair, Atlanta Georgia, Mitochondria Gallery Booth
2025 FUTURE FAIR, New York City, Mitochondria Gallery Booth
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS:
2025 Tracing the River Back, Group Exhibition, Mitochondria Gallery, Houston, TX
2024 Echoes of Transformation, Group Exhibition, Mitochondria Gallery, Houston,TX
2024 “The off is On,” Group Exhibition Galerie Atisss Dakar, Senegal
2024 “Surrealism in Great Lakes,” Group Exhibition, Galerie Atiss Dakar, Senegal
2024 “In Tender Peaks, Grace Unfolds,” Mitochondria Gallery, TX
2023 “When the Sun Stands Still”- Group Exhibition Mitochondria Gallery
2022 “Echoes of Memories-“ Duo Exhibition Mitochondria Gallery
2022 “WE, THE FUTURE” exhibition with Paintings, drawings and sculptures – Mali Likovni
Salon Gallery – Novi Sad, Serbia.
2021 “Visages” group show – Kigali, Rwanda
2021 “Colors and people’’ duo exhibition – Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge – Musanze, Rwanda.
2021 “Triennial of drawing and small – scale sculpture” – The association of fine artist in
Serbia (ULUS) – Belgrade, Serbia
RESIDENCIES
2025 Dot Ateliers, Accra, Ghana
PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA:
MBABAZI, J (2021) Art has given me confidence to communicate – local painter. The new
times [online] 26 December. Available from: https://www.newtimes.co.rw/lifestyle/art-has-
given-me-confidence- communicate-local-painter