Mauritzson’s practice is unique amongst today’s contemporary Swedish painters; she is one of few artists that capture the simple pleasures and poetic essence of a place, people and time.
A sense of past and present unfolds across the canvases of painter Tove Mauritzson who brings to life a diverse array of narratives framed as portraits, landscapes and still lifes. Her paintings are layered with references to the everyday rhythms of domestic life at home with family, pets, and Swedish traditions but simultaneously incorporate dreamlike atmospheres that allude to the exotic, vintage or mythological. In Mauritzson’s world, the mundane is replaced with the unexpected: dogs are allowed to stand on tables, living rooms are in disarray, and cacti, mushrooms, and seaweed thrive successfully on farmland. Mauritzson’s practice is unique amongst today’s contemporary Swedish painters; she is one of few artists that capture the simple pleasures and poetic essence of a place, people and time.
For the exhibition at Galleri Duerr, Mauritzson presents nine new paintings from 2023-24. The title of the show, Keeper, can be interpreted in many ways; Mauritzson describes how one can keep and take care of living creatures or a collection of things, but we also keep and cherish memories, stories, and traditions. Mauritzson begins her paintings with moments that are familiar and personal. She paints what she knows including her children and pets, as well as heirlooms and decorations from favorite Swedish holidays and from this starting point she improvises on the surface of the canvas to create her compositions. These notions are clearly visible in the painting titled, Än Slank Hon ner i Diket and presents the viewer with a celebration centered at the family dining table. There is no clear definition for what stage or time of year the party is; has it already begun or is it over?
The decorations merge the winter holiday of Christmas with summer crawfish festivities and hints of an Oktoberfest. Elegant military jackets are draped on tables which imply a sort of costume party as well. The various festivities come together like fragments of memories and create a space that we are all warmly invited to be a part of. Another room of Mauritzson’s world is the painting Your Bees Will Never Grieve You. The scene depicts a somewhat surrealistic dreamscape with cacti blooming from the carpet and a young girl swatting at bees whose hive is visible as an object decorating the home. It is a work inspired by one of the artist’s favorite songs, hence the reference to music through the vinyl record player. Mauritzson’s paintings often include a childlike perspective; she thinks it is more interesting to paint scenes, objects and figures a bit awkwardly rather than strive for classical perfection. The corners of a room may disappear in an unusual perspective, or some objects are painted flat, such as the bees which appear as if cut from another image and layered onto the painting. Mauritzson plays with contrasting depths of space which give some of her paintings interesting characteristics similar to collage.
A home is not complete without the addition of family pets and Mauritzson often paints horses and dogs into her works. Några Smulor Kvar depicts one of the family’s dogs on top of an end table in a room richly decorated with a collection of dishes and posh furniture. The scene is humorous and the hierarchy of man dominating beast is turned upside down by the dog’s determination to find treats with disregard for material luxury. In another painting, After the Reins, the artist’s pony takes center stage striking a pose of impatient obedience. The landscape contrasts between spring and fall and the pastel-colored palette emphasizes a sense of calmness like the animal’s own pensive personality. The horse has been a consistent symbol in art history, represented in equestrian monuments supporting historical leaders and painted by well-known artists of the avant-garde, and After the Reins contributes to this extensive history. In her painting, Mauritzson focuses on the physical beauty of her horse, which emphasizes the sense of a majestic existence.
Nature is an important subject for the artist as it not only allows her to express everyday experiences, but it also serves as an outlet to explore fictional narratives that celebrate the power of nature and its significance in our daily lives. Growing up in the Swedish countryside, the artist has always had a close relationship to animals and nature and recognizes how society today is losing this closeness. The landscape painting Hägringen, which translates to mirage in English, offers an invitation to imagine desert cactuses growing in the grassy fields of chilly Sweden. The artist’s gaze extends beyond the familiar scenery of home and the painting offers a space for contemplation and awakens curiosity for exploring unknown places, but it is also a subtle reminder that there is so much to discover even within the closeness of our backyards.
Mauritzson takes a more mythological approach with the painting The Road Not Taken in, which two lions, one hybrid with wings, regally walk along a destination beyond the edge of the painting; their presence is both earthly and divine. The exotic wildness of the lions is a sharp contrast to Mauritzson’s paintings of domestic pets; however the artist associates the creatures with strength and comfort, and the painting is a personal statement acknowledging how the animal kingdom and the chain of nature is a special realm that humans have become far removed from, and that nature cannot be controlled.
Painting people has been a new focus of interest for Mauritzson, and she imbues her portraiture with her unique vocabulary that references nature and home. In addition, she includes associations to time which emerge through the compositions or other painted symbols. A sense of past-present narratives is evident in the painting, Carousel of Time, which features two women, almost identical, who greet the viewer from a garden. The details of the women and the flowers in the foreground of this painting are clearly defined while the background seemingly disappears into an early morning fog. The clothes the women wear is an unusual mix of current styles, such as sneakers and cow-patterned clogs, paired together with folk costume and ruffled collars that harken to medieval dress. While time is evident through the eclectic combination of clothes the women wear, a central focal point of the painting is the watermelon; it’s weight can almost be felt by the viewer. The watermelon alludes to summer but can also be interpreted as metaphors about cycles of growth or notions of fertility; the garden the two women stand in is the abundance of life.
The painting Consider Yourself One of the Family is a portrait of one of the artist’s daughters. The young girl stands with a regal pose adorned with a crown of flowers and wearing a silky, ruffled shawl over her everyday clothes. The portrait is a unique departure from Mauritzson’s other image-filled paintings as the daughter is framed by a dark, empty background which emphasizes her as the main character of the scene. Despite her youthful elegance and privilege, the daughter is clearly on her way to perform the daily chore of walking the dogs.
Mauritzson is fascinated by preserving the things that are good about life and which last through time such as family and memories. In the still life painting, Long Live Tom King we are presented with an eclectic mix of precious objects referencing the artist’s life, hobbies, random collectibles, and times past. The work even includes a humorous reference to “the king” and when presented alone without the actual title, Mauritzson leaves the painting open for interpretation. Mauritzson’s artistic practice and process of painting is subjective, and she translates feelings into her works with the hope that her paintings, in turn, awaken feelings in the viewer. Throughout her extensive oeuvre of paintings, Mauritzson presents us with a self-portrait of who she is, and at the same time, we are welcome to be a part of her world.
– text by Anne Klontz
