Mamma Andersson (b. 1962) ranks as one of the most important painters of her generation. The exhibition is Andersson's first large-scale show at a Nordic museum in several years. The artist has made 10 new works especially for the exhibition, which is on view in Louisiana’s East Wing.
Mamma Andersson is an eminent interpreter of the unique language of painting. With a sharp sense of mood, colour, and materiality, she has developed a personal take on the classical genres of painting. Still lifes, interiors and landscapes are at the crux of her work, executed with powerful colours and a distinctive rawness that situates her work in the artistic here and now.
Technically, Mamma Andersson combines several different materials in her works. Her signature aesthetic is the result of repeated applications and overpainting. Oil on canvas is covered in spray paint, paint is dragged in thin bands across the surface, producing a material fullness and variation showcasing her skill.
In the video below Mamma Andersson in a conversation with curator, Marie Laurberg explains how she composes her paintings and finds inspiration. For example how she uses a wealth of art-historical references and found photos, films, and historical clippings. Everything in the finished works is filtered through her singular artistic eye. Both dryly observant and colourfully poetic, from this vision a new world emerges.
Marie Laurberg, Curator
Reaffirming Louisiana’s commitment to painting, this presentation of Mamma Andersson’s work follows shows by other artists of her generation, including Cecily Brown, Daniel Richter, and Peter Doig.
Catalogue
The exhibition catalogue is available in Danish and English with contributions from the author Karl Ove Knausgård, the playwright Magnus Florin, the art historian Barry Schwabsky in addition to a conversation between Mamma Andersson and the exhibition's curator, Marie Laurberg.
Louisiana Channel is a non-profit website that provides culture to the Internet, extending beyond the museum’s own events. The Louisiana team produces videos about art and culture on an ongoing basis. New videos are posted at the site every week.
Videos on the arts, featuring the artists.
In this video Mamma Andersson takes us on a tour of her studio and her extensive library of books and images that inspire her paintings – from Edward Munch to images of stripping athletes who embody the act of painting: “It struck me that the nakedness was probably the biggest parallel. You have to strip down to be seen and understood.”
