Mamma
Andersson, “Behind the cutain” at David Zwirner.
519 & 525 West
19th Street David Zwirner, New York
January 8 -
February 14, 2015
January 8th to February 14th
David Zwirner presented new work by Swedish artist Mamma Andersson. Andersson
was born in 1962 in Luleå, Sweden. She studied from 1986 to 1993 at the Royal
University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm, where she continues to live and
work. The exhibit showcased the artist latest body of paintings and included
two murals that were made specifically for the exhibit. She paints pictorially
and her images seem surreal, but as if taken from a state or performance. The
subject matter includes melancholic landscapes and private interiors.
Theatrical and domestic fictions
construct an interior setting that reference domesticity and femininity. We are
over-shadowed by giant characters that are based on toys or dolls. The
representation of dolls appear throughout the show whether it is up-front, like
her dolls that reveal their nature with their peg joints, or if it is more
subtle such as seen in her painting “behind the curtain” which shows two female
dancers whose bodies are stiff like a wooden dolls.
Her paintings seem heavily influenced
by the painting process. In one work you will find areas that have washes of
paint, or heavy and thick application of paint, or stark graphic lines. Her
broad range of techniques is a testament to her engagement with the process.
Translating her paintings to murals is a recent development, one that is complex
and exciting. Entering the gallery to be over-whelmed by her murals is an
experience that leaves the viewer challenging their familiarity with every-day
objects (such as dolls).
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DeleteI really enjoyed your review of Mamma Andersson's work Behind the Curtain. It is very necessary to point out her background in your first paragraph since her work has a lot of domesticities. In your second paragraph, it is very well observed that you mentioned about she uses feminine objects such as dolls, curtain and female dances to refer the femininity in her work. In third paragraph, I found a little bit difficult to understand how her mural installation relates to her experimental approach in painting process? Maybe the information you pointed out such as washes of paints, heavy and thick application of paint or stark graphic lines doesn't convince me enough to believe that those might be the clues changes her to try mural. I would question if there is any other reasons make her change.
ReplyDeleteGood job!
Lu :>
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI like your objective analysis of the exhibit. It looks like you paid attention to the artist's image-making process, particularly her techniques, and not just the image created. As a person who barely paints, I envy that you can see this. If there was one thing I wish you would change, it would be adding more about the scale, since it is such a big part on the overwhelming quality of the murals. Question whether its effectiveness would change if it was a different size maybe. Other than that, there are a few typo that can be fixed. Check plus