www.gallerimagnuskarlsson.com/artists/mamma-andersson
1. Could you tell us about Stockholm? Why didn’t you move to London or any other city? How Stockholm has shaped you as an artist?
I came to Stockholm as a young art student, 21 years old. I had two sons while I was studying, when I graduated my sons were six and three years old. Since I grew up in the northern part of Sweden I thought that Stockholm was big enough for me. To move the whole family abroad wasn’t an option.
Stockholm is in comparison a quite a small city. The art scene is not that big either, but it is vivid and now and then it can be interesting.It is a beautiful city, surrounded by water. Parts of the city are very old with a distinctive architecture. Unfortunately, winter is unusually unbearably long cold and dark.
Since a few years back we are living in the central parts of Stockholm and I have a studio within walking distance from our home. I would be lying if I said that I never wished I was somewhere else, longing for a city with more energy, artistic friction and more artist colleagues. Every time I exhibit or work outside of Stockholm a new desire is born to go somewhere, to move. But when I get home I feel quite satisfied. It is here in Stockholm that my closest connections are, family, friends, places and life itself.
2. Your work is very mysterious and interesting. Is your work inspired consciously or unconsciously by Vincent Van Gogh? Have you thought about it before? Do people refer your work to Van Gogh or other old masters?
Vincent Van Gogh was a very fine painter. I definetely have a relation to his work. But more as one of many artists from that period that have interested me.
I don’t think anyone directly would link Van Gogh to my work.
If so, I’m flattered.
3. How important is the art history for you? Are you inspired by old masters?
As an artist I live in a continuous contact with art history, you could say that it is other artists that gives me impulse and energy.
4. Could you tell us about color in your paintings? Does your color pallet have something to do with the theme of your paintings?
Yes, of course, color is a big part in my work.
Color is two different things. The color palette and the material. As for the palette itself, it is very individual. I think the color is close friend of the psyche, a kind of mode.
The color scheme is not static, it changes all the time.
Regarding the color material the oil paint attracts me the most, although during periods I have used more transparent materials like varnishes and glazes. In the last two, three years I have been busy with oil pastels, they give a more crayonlike surface.With these oil bars, I get a resistance because they are clumsy and a freedom just because of this clumsiness.
5. What do you want the viewer to gain from looking at your artworks?
A strong emotion, it can be both joyful and unpleasant.
6. Have you thought about exploring other medium than painting? What is painting for you?
Two years ago, I bought a printing press that now occupies my summer studio. I have been interested in print making for a long time, it is a completely different approach than painting. The technique requires a different planning and feeling. I hope I will come to work more with other materials in the future.
Painting is nevertheless my most important and natural expression.
7. How many hours do you spend painting everyday?
When I work, I work very intensively for months in a row. But I also like to just vegetate.
8. What is a future of contemporary art in your opinion?
Contemporary means the present. As long as man exists and acts, the present will keep on going.
We are facing many different problems in our time, one can see this in the art as well. But art is not just a mirror of its own time, art is and remains timeless.
9. You are known as Mamma Andersson. Why did you change your name to Mamma? Did that change your art?
A name like Karin Andersson is like John Smith, I just had to do something about it.
It might have affected me.
10. Do we need a commercial galleries in the age of internet?
Yes
