#InTheStudio with Joan Mitchell Fellow María Berrío: “I create large-scale paintings with Japanese papers. Many of my works are inspired by South American folklore and history, or by mythologies from around the world, and with these inspirations I create fictional worlds that blend current political and social situations. “Much of my work attempts to recreate images and scenes from my own past, faded now by the distance of time and space. Memories are filled in with imagined details, seen through the lens of magical realism. Drawing from my own experience of migration, I depict figures displaced by unknown and powerful forces. We encounter them preparing for their travels, in moments of transition, and arriving on uncertain shores. These works look beyond the contingent circumstances of the migrant’s journey to examine how a person recreates themselves through the process of journeying. “The most recent body of work that I created, which will be exhibited at the @icaboston in February, is titled The Children's Crusade. It blends the history of the 12th century Children's Crusade with current migratory journeys in the Mediterranean and along the US border. The main focus and the main characters are children and their perceptions as seen through fantasy and magical realism.” Follow the link in our bio to read the full interview with María Berrío (@mariaberriostudio). Image 1: María Berrío in her studio in Brooklyn. Photo by Kyle Dorosz. Image 2: María Berrío, A Sunburst Restrained, 2019. Collage with Japanese paper and watercolor paint, 60 x 72 inches. © María Berrío. Courtesy the artist and @victoriamirogallery. Image 3: Materials in María Berrío’s studio. Photo by Bruce White. Image 4: María Berrío, The Nightingale I, 2017. Collage with Japanese paper and watercolor paint, 60 x 48 inches. © María Berrío. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro. Image 5: María Berrío, Cavalry, 2022. Collage with Japanese paper and watercolor paint, 72 x 90 inches. © María Berrío. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro. #mariaberrio #joanmitchellfellows #joanmitchellfoundation #artistinterview