Born Anna Karin Andersson, she drew and painted from an early age without any family members being interested in art.
[2] She studied at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm and her nickname Mamma ("Mother") was added at that time to differentiate herself from another student with the same name.[when?
To learn to paint she found she had to engross herself in others work and cites John-Erik Franzén, Enno Hallek and her "greatest teacher" Dick Bengtsson.
The exhibition catalogue includes essays by Ann-Sofi Noring, Kim Levin and Midori Matsui, poems by Thomas Tidholm and a conversation between Karin Mamma Andersson and the author and playwright Lars Norén.
She had three solo exhibitions at David Zwirner Gallery in New York City: Room Under the Influence (2006),[4][5] Who is sleeping on my pillow (2010), and Behind the Curtain (2015).