Studio Visit with Maria Berrio at EFA Studios, NYC
In the studio with Maria Berrio, September 2016.
I had the pleasure of reconnecting with the very talented Colombian artist Maria Berrio once more at her new space inside EFA Studios in the Fashion District. We previously met in the fall of 2015 when she was a part of the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program in DUMBO. Many of the canvases that I saw then were now in completion at her new studio. Berrio's rich and visually abundant collage-based canvases explore surrealist dreamscapes, female energy, nature, and Latin American folklore. Her latest works will form a new series and are deeply inspired by museum dioramas. Berrio's women, petite and dark-haired with classic features, once again commune with wild creatures, and are set against beautiful and expansive North American landscapes. Berrio's muses are outfitted in stunningly patterned garments, which on closer look, are meticulously crafted collage techniques constructed from Japanese rice paper, watercolor, and other materials. Heavily influenced by fashion, global culture, magical realism literature, as well as her own dreams which she translates onto the canvas, tender and fantastical scenes collide and play out in her work. Berrio is represented by the Praxis Gallery, where she's participated in three exhibitions including two solo shows. She will exhibit her work next at Art Basel in Miami this coming December. Berrio grants me intimate access to her work, process, and surroundings.
Follow Maria Berrio on Instagram @mariaberriostudio
In the studio with Maria Berrio, September 2016.
In the studio with Maria Berrio, September 2016.
In the studio with Maria Berrio, September 2016.
In the studio with Maria Berrio, September 2016.
In the studio with Maria Berrio, September 2016.
In the studio with Maria Berrio, September 2016.
In the studio with Maria Berrio, September 2016.
