From afar, you might mistake María Berrío’s paintings as oils on canvas. But move in closer to the work and you see that they are collages made from torn pieces of painted paper. Berrío, who is 41, uses imagery from folklore and children’s stories to make serious political and social comment. In this series, Berrío conflates the story of the Children’s Crusade of 1212—when thousands of children (according to legend, but debated by historians) trekked through Europe converting Muslims to Christianity—with today’s phenomenon of children crossing borders unaccompanied. Innocence, nature, magic, and uncertainty flow through Berrío’s imagery. —Elena Clavarino