María Berrío
María Berrío
Book
Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, María Berrío lives and works in New York. Her large-scale paintings are crafted through an intricate collage process using delicate Japanese papers. This book, designed to accompany her exhibition The End of Ritual at Victoria Miro, reflects her practice—emphasising tactility, colour, rhythm, and discovery.
The book’s design incorporates a mix of papers—some transparent, others richly coloured—creating a dynamic, flowing pace. One transparent sheet has a textured, almost unsettling quality, like a veil that both reveals and obscures, mirroring the layered complexity of María’s work.
For the cover, we chose Japanese paper embedded with flower petals and grasses, a nod to her materials. Her name is foil-blocked, catching the light with a subtle shine. The semi-exposed binding, finished with brown tape along the spine, directly connects to the tools and materials she uses daily. At the project’s start, María sent us an envelope of papers from her Brooklyn studio, sealed with brown tape—a detail that inspired this design element.
Colour and texture invite touch and curiosity. The typography, particularly the left-leaning italics, quietly playfully subverts tradition.
Throughout, small details introduce moments of surprise: the front and back endpapers are different colours, breaking expected symmetry, while some colour pages are deliberately cut short, creating unexpected shifts in space and interaction.
A special edition includes an envelope made from three variations of handmade paper containing blossoms, grass particles, and hops. Inside, it holds a signed and numbered print, created by María Berrío at Harlan & Weaver specifically for this publication.
Contributors: María Berrío, Siddhartha Mitter
Studio photography and film by Gautier Deblonde
2024
