Mamma Andersson
"Många träd i skogen stå"
In Mamma Andersson’s painting “Många träd i skogen stå”, memories, moods, and fragments of imagery merge into a new reality.
The pale tree trunks—so often present in her work from this period—stand upright. Tucked in among them are totem poles and sculptures bearing traces of now-extinct cultures from Africa or South America. The contrast with the Scandinavian forest landscape and the seemingly frozen ground heightens their distinctive expression. Fashioned from tree species that have grown on the other side of the world, they convey a message about the cycles of life and the rise and fall of human cultures. Nature is the only enduring force: the trees continue to grow, while the traces of human presence are gradually erased, eventually becoming entirely enveloped by living organisms. In the lower right-hand corner of the painting, yellow flowers emerge, symbolising rebirth and hope.
Weekdays 11 AM – 6 PM
Weekends 11 AM – 4 PM
Around the turn of the millennium, Mamma Andersson’s artistic career accelerated. In 2002, she held both a well-received exhibition with Magnus Karlsson, her Swedish gallerist, and her first exhibition at Stephen Friedman Gallery in London—marking the beginning of a successful international career. She now occupies a unique position among Swedish artists who regularly exhibit abroad.
With distinctions such as representing Sweden at the Venice Biennale in 2003 and a solo exhibition at Moderna Museet in 2007, both public and critical appreciation of her distinctive painting has continued to grow. At the São Paulo Biennial in 2018, she participated as an artist and also curated a presentation featuring other artists. In 2021, the major retrospective “Humdrum Days” was shown at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, which also holds one of her key works in its collection. Today, Mamma Andersson is represented in numerous museum collections, including Museum of Modern Art in New York, Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Nasjonalmuseet, and Moderna Museet, as well as in many significant private collections around the world.
Mamma Andersson at Contemporary Art & Design
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