Hauser & Wirth has announced the representation of Colombia-born, Brooklyn-based artist Maria Berrio in collaboration with Victoria Miro.
The artist will debut new work at our upcoming Art Basel Miami 2024 presentation and her first exhibition with the gallery will be in New York in September 2025
Drawing on childhood memories, dreams, mythological themes and issues at the forefront of contemporary culture, Berrio’s intricate large-scale collages push the limits of conventional portraiture and landscape painting. Her imaginative, dreamlike works are often populated by women set in ethereal spaces that seem to exist outside of conventional time and space. Inspired in part by South American folklore, her art places humans and nature in a harmonious coexistence, suggestive of a delicate ecology in which the personal and collective seek balance. Berrío’s work explores the ways history shapes individuals and communities; in her amalgamation of memory, fact and fiction, she blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy to address the many struggles and contradictions of our present day.
Berrío’s technical prowess is demonstrated through the singular process of layering hundreds of pieces of cut and torn Japanese paper on which she adds shadows and delicate details in watercolor, graphite and ink to achieve richly textured, multi-dimensional surfaces. This unique approach—which she has been honing over the past two decades—allows her to evoke both the fragility and the strength of the female figures she depicts. By making these figures life-sized, the artist compels viewers to confront them eye to eye, entering a world that is as emotionally resonant as it is visually captivating. Beneath the beauty of her compositions, replete with an air of wistful nostalgia, Berrío alludes to the political and social struggles that effect the most vulnerable members of society.
‘We are honored to welcome María Berrío to Hauser & Wirth. Part of a generation of artists bringing fresh energy to the medium of painting, María is a confident innovator dedicated to both technical inventiveness and new interpretations of the deep, psychologically rich reservoir where folklore, mythology and history mingle. María’s ideas and formal prowess align her wonderfully with numerous artists across our program, from Jack Whitten and Mark Bradford, to Angel Otero and Firelei Báez. We look forward to the collaboration ahead and are delighted to welcome her to the gallery.’
—Marc Payot, President
About the artist
María Berrío’s (b. 1982, Bogotá, Colombia) practice weaves together elements of memory, magic and identity, drawing heavily on both her youth in Colombia and her experiences living and working in New York City. Growing up in Bogotá with two brothers, Berrío spent much of her childhood on a family farm just outside the city, which left an indelible mark on her creative consciousness. These early experiences, rich with nature, music and storytelling, continue to inform her art today, which is deeply rooted in her Colombian heritage, yet filtered through the lens of memory.
Berrío moved to New York City when she was 18 years old to attend Parsons School of Design, where she primarily experimented with large-scale charcoal drawings and painting. After receiving her MFA from the New York School of Visual Arts, in 2007, a close friend from Japan introduced her to the exquisite textures and varieties of artisanal Japanese paper and suggested she try working with collage. She became captivated by the medium, once saying, ‘I love the feel, the smell, the different tactile sensations between different types, the colors, and the enormous amount of care that goes into making them… I love all the possibilities [paper] provides and how it continues to surprise me.’
Through her intricate collages, Berrío continues to explore the complex layers of identity and belonging, moving fluidly between the cultures that have shaped her—her Colombian roots and her experiences in the dynamic urban landscape of New York City. Today, she works out of a studio in Brooklyn, where she creates works that are as much about the flow of energy in the city as they are about the mythical, vivid world of her childhood recollections.
