A Sunburst Restrained 2019

María Berrío created "A Sunburst Restrained" using collage and watercolor. The figures here inhabit a space that feels both intimate and constructed. Made in the twenty-first century by a Columbian artist working in the United States, this artwork references a long history of representing the female figure. We might consider the western art historical trope of the reclining nude, but here the figures are clothed, their gaze direct but not inviting. The setting seems dreamlike and ambiguous, the figures close together yet separate. This may speak to the artist's own experience of being a migrant: the feeling of closeness and distance, visibility and invisibility, that often comes with it. To understand this work better, we might research the artist’s biography or look at the history of South American women artists working in the U.S. in recent years. Ultimately, this work prompts us to consider the social conditions that shape identity and representation, and the power of art to challenge prevailing norms.