Inside the moody, mysterious world of Sweden’s preeminent painter. Words by Emily Nathan. Photography by Staffan Sundström. Styling by Naomi Itkes.
The Swedish painter Karin “Mamma” Andersson is reluctant to recount how she got her name. “Everybody always asks me about that, so it’s boring to me now, ” she says, and launches into the tale, making me promise that I’ll keep it to myself. It’s a good story, and it takes us back to her art-school days as a bright-eyed fugitive from the country’s dark north—a lonely girl who found her place in the big, cold city.