This year, we were thrilled to see María Berrío’s work at the ICA Boston. Berrío (born 1982) crafts her large-scale collage paintings through a unique, meticulous process of collaging torn pieces of Japanese paper with watercolor to create riveting, magical scenes. Some of the images in this post are from her exhibit at the ICA Boston.
Born in Bogotá, Columbia, María Berrío is a visual artist working in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up between a house in Bogotá and a farm in the Colombian countryside. Berrío came to the United States at the age eighteen to attend Parsons School of Design for her BFA, later completing her MFA at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan in 2007.
Berrío’s large-scale works reflect on cross-cultural connections and global migration, often highlighting women and children. She draws inspiration from her childhood memories and South American cultural roots and landscapes.
“Much of Berrío’s work centers on the themes of women’s resilience, immigration, and climate awareness. Elegantly intertwining these three concepts throughout her art, Berrío delves into the complexities of womanhood by showing the struggles, triumphs, and challenges that women face both in private spaces and in nature. Women and children are her primary subjects, and her own personal relationships with the environment and the landscape help shape her artistic approach.” (p.109, “María Berrío: Constructing a Community of Courageous Women through Collage”)
Image 1: Ozymandias, 2022 at ICA Boston
Image 2: Under Thatch and Autumn Star, 2022 at ICA Boston
Image 3: The Conference of the Sparrows, 2023 at ICA Boston
Image 4: María Berrío in her Brooklyn studio, NY (from “We are here: visionaries of color transforming the art world”)
María Berrío: Constructing a Community of Courageous Women through Collage Cushman, Emily COLLEGE PK: Feminist Studies, Inc Feminist studies, 2022, Vol.48 (1), p.108-132
We are here : visionaries of color transforming the art world Hernandez, Jasmin [(author, interviewer)] New York: Abrams, 2021. English 2021 HOLLIS number: 99155702467103941
