Mamma Andersson creates first interior design collection exclusively for Svenskt Tenn

In the autumn, Svenskt Tenn is launching an exclusive interior design collection created by Mamma Andersson. The collection has been given the name “The Discrete Charm” and will be shown in an exhibition with the same name which depicts a type of dreamworld, created by Mamma Andersson.

Mamma Andersson is one of Sweden’s internationally best-known artists. She is represented in a number of the world’s leading museums and at the moment is current with an exhibition entitled Humdrum Days at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. Her first interior design collection, which she has created exclusively for Svenskt Tenn, is now being launched.

“The tea set and the throw blanket were my entry into the collaboration. I thought then that the cup would sit together with my woodcuts and that the blanket would be a dim autumn landscape in wool. What was originally intended as a small project grew and became an extesnive exhibition, where I have an entire installation with my own work that I’ve composed with fabrics and furniture from Svenskt Tenn as well as carpets and other items from elsewhere,” says Mamma Andersson.

“This is a unique and prestigious collaboration and the fact that Mamma Andersson has created her first interior design collection, which we are now launching as part of our major autumn exhibition, shows yet a further dimension of Svenskt Tenn. Both the collection and the exhibition are characterised by her artistry and feeling for colour and spatiality. It has been an extraordinarily fine and productive collaboration,” says Thommy Bindefeld, marketing manager and creative director.

Mamma Andersson discovered Svenskt Tenn in connection with her studies at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm (1986 – 1993) when she visited the store on Strandvägen for the first time. It was the beginning of a fascination that has lasted for decades.

“For some reason, Svenskt Tenn became the place that I went secretly to see the beautiful life, and to get a particular kind of inspiration. I visited the store for nearly 20 years without ever buying anything becauseI couldn’t afford it, but that wasn’t the point of the visists,” says Mamma Andersson and she continues: “Josef Frank’s fabrics have a boldness, playfulness and fantastic skillfulness. For me, colour and pattern are among the basics when it comes to painting. Estrid Ericsson has interested me more and more over the years, especially her eye for the beautiful and the elegant, and her ability to gather both sophisticated and simple items. She was really ahead of her time,” says Mamma Andersson.

The collection comprises a throw blanket, a tea cosy, a series of trays and a tea set. The name of the collection, “The Discrete Charm” is derived from the film title The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie by Luis Bunuel, 1972. It’s a reference, among other things, to the artist’s own relationship to bourgeoise traditions.

“The exhibition is primarily a game and a way to poke fun at myself. It’s about my desire and longing for the aesthetics of the bourgeoisie. I feel a little out of my element, but I still love it,” concludes Mamma Andersson.

About Mamma Andersson
Mamma Andersson was born in Luleå in 1962 and studied at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm between 1986 – 1993. Today, she is one of Sweden’s internationally best-known artists. She represented Sweden at the 2003 Venice Biennale and, in 2018, curated an exhibition at the São Paulo Art Biennial in Brazil. Mamma Andersson’s works of art have been exhibited at a number of galleries and museums throughout the world and they are included in the collections of, among others, MoMa in New York, MoCA in Los Angeles, The National Museum in Olso and Moderna Museet in Stockholm.

Prices
Trays from 54€, Tea pot 480€, Tea cup 210€, Tea cosy 100€, Throw 1380€.