Tove Mauritzson Swedish, b. 1976

The world of figurative painter Tove Mauritzson (b. 1976, Sweden) rotates around the people, animals and memories of her home. Yet, there is no sense of an ordinary domestic life as Mauritzson embellishes reality with fantasy. The painting Still, I Believe I'm Worth Coming Home To  (2023) is an eclectic kitchen scene about the joys and routines of daily life, from fishing and picking mushrooms to celebrating a 12-year old’s birthday. While the scene is heartwarming, with references to Swedish life in the countryside, there are twists and turns in the painting that guides viewers through a dreamlike moment rather than a depiction of today. As she describes, there is a childlike perspective in her paintings, and she thinks it is interesting to paint objects a bit awkwardly. Some objects may have exaggerated sizes or they are painted more flat without any depth and this is evident in the work where we see fish that seem to float in the air, purple mushrooms grow from the tabletop and the coffee pot is boiling over with plume of yellow blossoms. Throughout her extensive oeuvre of work, Mauritzson presents us with a self-portrait of who she is, and at the same time, we are welcomed into her home.

Tove Mauritzson lives and works in Viken, Sweden.