Víctor Rivera Mercado (Puerto Rican, 1958–). El Velorio de los Tres Santos Reyes (The
Vigil for the Three Kings), 2019?, painted wood. Toste-Mediavilla collection, 294
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Art of Devotion: The Santos de Palo Tradition of Puerto Rico opens August 2 at Mint Museum Randolph
Charlotte, North Carolina (May 28, 2025) — Art of Devotion: The Santos de Palo Tradition of Puerto Rico includes more than 150 examples of Puerto Rican santos de palo—carved wooden sculptures of saints, holy figures, and sacred scenes—produced throughout the past 300 years. The exhibition will be on view August 2, 2025–July 5, 2026, at Mint Museum Randolph.
Curated by Dorie Reents-Budet, PhD, Art of Devotion surveys the development of the santos de palo art form and highlights the creativity of individual carvers (santeros) from 1750 to today. These carved wooden sculptures were created from local tree roots and branches and cast-off wood blocks. Santos de palo were essential for Catholic worship among the island’s rural population that, until the 20th century, had scant access to churches and priests. The faithful created home altars with a saintly figure to focus their devotions. People of special faith were called to the carving of santos for family use and trading with neighbors.
From this humble beginning, santos de palo today express not only religious faith but also Puerto Rico’s national identity. The sculptures embody its mixed-race and multicultural people and traditions, steeped in spiritual beliefs and resourceful responses to hardships.
Initially, santos de palo reflected a Spanish Baroque style because carvers copied sacred images on prayer cards distributed by traveling priests during the 16th and 18th centuries. By the late 18th century, santeros were introducing innovations suited to local artistic tastes and interpretations of Catholic imagery. Today’s santeros carve Christian figures, often with Puerto Rican symbols, and revered persons who embody the same characteristics as the Catholic saints.
Art of Devotion is drawn entirely from the extensive santos de palo collection of Nitza Mediavilla Piñero and Francisco Toste Santana, who recently moved to Charlotte from San Juan, Puerto Rico. This is the first exhibition featuring the Toste-Mediavilla santos collection.
“Art of Devotion continues the Mint Museum’s long-standing mission to feature craft as art and explore innovative expressions of the human creative spirit. The santo de palo tradition embodies not only spiritual faith but also the cultural pride of contemporary Puerto Rico, intermingling its Catholic heritage with contemporary topics while reflecting its Hispanic, indigenous Taíno and Carib, and African legacy,” says Dorie Reents-Budet, PhD.
Ticket Information
Admission to The Mint Museum exhibition is free for members and children ages 4 and younger, and students in grades K-12, plus college art students; $15 for adults; $10 for seniors ages 65 and older; and $10 for college students with ID. Both museum locations are free 5-9 PM every Wednesday. For museum hours, visit mintmuseum.org.
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About Dorie Reents-Budet
Dorie Reents-Budet, PhD, specializes in art of the ancient Americas. She is a research associate at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and has been an independent museum curator for 25 years, including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (1999-2019), The Mint Museum (2006-2013), the Denver Art Museum, the DeYoung Museum (San Francisco), and Casa K’inich (Copan, Honduras). She was a professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She holds a BFA in studio art (University of Northern Colorado), an MA in anthropology and a PhD in art history (University of Texas at Austin). She resides in Durham, North Carolina.
About The Mint Museum
Established in 1936 as north Carolina’s first art museum, the mint museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations — Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts — the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.
For more information or to schedule interviews, contact:
Michele Huggins, associate director of marketing and communications
michele.huggins@mintmuseum.org | 704.564.0826
Clayton Sealey, senior director of marketing and communications
clayton.sealey@mintmuseum.org | 704.534.0186