Hauser & Wirth has announced its representation of Brooklyn-based artist María Berrío, known for her large-scale collage paintings. The gallery will mount a solo show of her work in 2025 and will feature one of her pieces at Art Basel Miami Beach this December. Berrío will be co-represented by her London-based gallery, Victoria Miro, which is currently staging her solo exhibition, “The End of Ritual,” until January 18, 2025.
Born in Bogotá in 1982, Berrío moved to New York at 18 to attend Parsons School of Design, later earning her MFA from the New York School of Visual Arts. Her work is deeply rooted in her Colombian heritage, drawing on her childhood memories and the natural surroundings of her family’s farm outside Bogotá.
At the New York School of Visual Arts, a friend suggested that Berrío try to work with artisanal Japanese paper and collage. From there, Berrío developed an intricate technique of working with delicate layers of washi papers and watercolors on linen. She meticulously places the cut or torn pieces of paper before adding more intricate details in watercolor, graphite, and ink.
Berrío’s complex figurative scenes portray a range of subjects, from frenetic crowds to introspective portraits. Her collages are often inspired by fantasy or folklore. One work at her solo exhibition at Victoria Miro, The Spectators (2024), features a crowd standing behind a figure in a bright red coat wearing a cat face mask. Her subjects, primarily women or children, are frequently portrayed in uncanny, strange, or exciting situations. Oftentimes, these works address political and social struggles, such as deportation detention centers in the U.S. or instability in her home country.
“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,” said Marc Payot, President of Hauser & Wirth. “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.”
Berrío has been the subject of solo shows at prestigious institutions, including ICA Boston in 2023 and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida in 2021. Her work is featured in collections such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.
