This volume celebrates the Swedish artist Mamma Andersson’s new body of work—melancholic， evocatively colored paintings that explore femininity， fantasy， and memory。

Andersson’s works embody a new genre of landscape painting that recalls late nineteenth-century romanticism while also embracing a contemporary interest in layered， psychological compositions。 Her panoramic scenes draw inspiration from a wide range of archival photographic source materials， filmic imagery， theater sets， and period interiors as well as the sparse topography of northern Sweden， where she grew up。 The paintings utilize a selection of motifs from throughout her career: barren branches and thick-barked pine trees， domestic interiors， horses， and young women。 Resembling still lifes， they further a tradition of quiet， dreamlike domestic scenes by Scandinavian artists such as Vilhelm Hammershøi （1864–1916） and Edvard Munch （1863–1944）。 Part of a self-conscious effort to capture an experience rather than a specific event， the compositions are freer and more abstract and mark a departure from her earlier work。
 
Splendid color reproductions bring the artist’s textured brushstrokes， loose washes， and stark graphic lines to life on the page。 The book also features a new essay by critically acclaimed author Karl Ove Knausgaard。 The Lost Paradise is published on the occasion of an eponymous exhibition presented at David Zwirner New York in 2020。