Characterized by a unique combination of textured brushstrokes, loose washes, stark graphic lines, and evocative colors, 

’s (b. 1962) works embody a new genre of painting that recalls late nineteenth-century romanticism while also embracing a contemporary interest in layered, psychological compositions. Her often-panoramic scenes draw inspiration from a wide range of archival photographic source materials, filmic imagery, theater sets, and period interiors, as well as the sparse topography of northern Sweden, where she grew up: mountainous backdrops, trees, snow, and wooden cabins are recurrent elements within her works. Yet, rather than conveying specific spatial or temporal reference points, they revolve around the expression of atmospheres and subjective moods, and frequently appear to merge the past, the present, and the future.

Andersson was born in Luleå, Sweden. She studied from 1986 to 1993 at the Kungl Konsthögskolan in Stockholm, where she continues to live and work.

Andersson's work has been represented by David Zwirner since 2004. In October 2023, a solo presentation of the artist’s work titled 

 opened at David Zwirner, Paris, marking the artist’s fifth solo exhibition with the gallery. 

 was on view at David Zwirner, New York, in 2020. The artist’s previous shows with the gallery include 

 (2010), a two-person exhibition with Jockum Nordström; and 

 (2006), which marked the artist's United States debut.

In 2022, the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark, organized the two-person presentation 

, which traveled to the Malmö Konstmuseum, Sweden, in 2023, and will be on view at Museum MORE, Gorssel, the Netherlands, starting November 2023. In 2021, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark, presented a solo exhibition of the artist’s work, 

. In 2018 to 2019, a solo presentation of Andersson’s work titled 

 was on view at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2011, the artist’s work was the subject of a solo exhibition at Museum Haus Esters in Krefeld, Germany. She had her first solo museum show in the United States at the Aspen Art Museum, Colorado, in 2010, and her first solo exhibition in Ireland at the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, in 2009. In 2007, a critically acclaimed mid-career survey of her work was organized by the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, which traveled to Kunsthalle Helsinki and the Camden Arts Centre, London.

For the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo in 2018, Andersson curated the group presentation 

, which featured a number of the artist’s paintings. In 2006, she won the Carnegie Art Award, a prestigious prize for Nordic contemporary painting, and received a corresponding exhibition that traveled extensively throughout Europe. Her work was also represented in the Nordic Pavilion at the 50th Venice Biennale, 

Dreams and Conflicts – The Viewer’s Dictatorship

Work by the artist is represented in museum collections worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Dallas Museum of Art; Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Gothenburg, Sweden; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark; Magasin III, Stockholm; Malmö Konstmuseum, Sweden; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Public Art Council, Stockholm; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Västerås Konstmuseum, Sweden.

Delicately and elegantly constructed, Swedish artist 

’s (b. 1963) collages, watercolors, graphite drawings, and architectural sculptures feel improvisational and spontaneous, yet rich in detail. His works on paper read like storyboards, often referred to by the artist as “stills,” where all the action takes place simultaneously within a frozen frame. His imaginative tableaux-like environments appear as fantastical settings populated with unique figures, animals, architecture, furniture, musical instruments, and other props, all varying in scale and composition. Demonstrating his innovative approach to illustration and his distinctive choice in subject matter, his works feature an assorted cast of characters, seemingly pulled from different eras, and frequently employ unusual horizontal or vertical formats that recall the sequential arrangement of comic books and filmstrips.

Nordström was born in Stockholm, where he continues to live and work. In 2000, the artist joined David Zwirner, where he had his first United States solo show that same year, marking the first of five at the gallery in New York. In 2014, 

 marked Nordström’s first solo show at the gallery in London, featuring new works on paper and sculptures. A solo presentation of the artist’s work, 

, was on view at the gallery’s London location in 2019.

, was on view at La Criée centre d’art contemporain, Rennes, France, in 2021. In 2020, Skissernas Museum in Lund, Sweden presented the solo exhibition 

. In 2018, a solo exhibition of the artist’s work entitled 

 was presented at the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans. In 2013, the artist had a major European survey, 

, which was on view at Lille Métropole, musée d’art moderne, d’art contemporain et d’art brut in Villeneuve d’Ascq, France, before it traveled to the Camden Arts Centre in London, making it the first solo exhibition of his work in the city. Other solo shows include those organized by the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2012); Swedish Institute, Paris (2011); Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2010); and Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2005).

Work by the artist is represented in museum collections that include Centre Pompidou, Paris; Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Gothenburg, Sweden; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.), Ghent; Västerås Konstmuseum, Sweden; and the Weatherspoon Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Born in Stockholm, Stig Claesson (1928–2008) was an award-winning Swedish writer, artist, and illustrator. He published more than eighty books during his lifetime, several of which were translated into English, with some adapted for television and theater. His 

Stig Claesson

Italian curator Paolo Colombo is an advisor to the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. From 1989 to 2000, he was Director of the Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva, and from 2001 to 2007, he was Curator of the Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo in Rome.

Paolo Colombo

Marcel Dzama was born in 1974 in Winnipeg, Canada, and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Since 1998, his work has been represented by David Zwirner, and he has exhibited widely both in the United States and internationally.

Marcel Dzama

Anders Krüger is an artist, professor, and curator based in Sweden. He was Director of the Grafikens Hus in Mariefred, Sweden from 2008 to 2010.

Anders Krüger

Texts by Paolo Colombo and Anders Krüger. Interview with Nordström by Marcel Dzama. Poem by Stig Claesson

The Swedish artist couple Mamma Andersson and Jockum Nordström have been at the forefront of contemporary figurative art since the late 1980s. Updating Vuillard for a post-Hitchcock age, Andersson paints beguilingly eerie interiors and landscapes. Nordström’s detailed collages, watercolors, and drawings occupy a more folkloric realm peopled by historical and contemporary characters enacting sexual and social roles across broad narrative panoramas.

Originally published on the occasion of the 2010 exhibition at David Zwirner in New York, 

marked the first time Andersson and Nordström presented their work in concurrent solo shows. The book showcases their work from the late 1980s to 2010 in over two hundred full-color plates, as well as numerous reproductions of family snapshots and source material. Also included are texts by Paolo Colombo and Anders Krüger, a poem by Stig Claesson, and an interview with Nordström by Marcel Dzama. As Colombo notes in his accompanying essay, “The miracle is that Jockum and Mamma spent more than half of their life together, and that over the years their complicity has guided them into the artists they are, each the complement and the best sounding board for the other.” The publication was reissued to coincide with Nordström’s 2014 exhibition, 

, at David Zwirner in London, and Andersson’s 2015 presentation, 

Mamma Andersson & Jockum Nordström: Who is sleeping on my pillow

Mamma Andersson & Jockum Nordström: Who is sleeping on my pillow | David Zwirner Books

David Zwirner is an art gallery with locations in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Hong Kong. We present physical and online exhibitions, podcasts, books, and more.