Meret oppenheim biography

Méret Oppenheim. Group Show

Drawing the surreal

Ida Ekblad, Simone Fattal, Hans Josephsohn & Meret Oppenheim

Opening September 1st, 6 - 8 pm Weststrasse 70

Meret Oppenheim

'The exhibition presents artists and works from the collection of Kunstmuseum Bern that have rarely been seen by a large public. In dialogue with «masterpieces» of the collection, these forgotten...

Meret Oppenheim

“Nobody will give you freedom,” said Meret Oppenheim in 1975. “You have to take it.” Inspired by the visionary Swiss artist’s own plans for an exhibition of her art, Meret...

Meret Oppenhe

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Summary of Meret Oppenheim

Meret Oppenheim's notebook from high school math class contains the following equation: "X= an Orange Rabbit". André Breton (the pope of Surrealism) loved this so much he published the whole notebook. With the looks of a Hollywood film star, and the brain of a mad scientist, Oppenheim managed to persuade the Surrealists to allow her to join their circle (which until then was strictly no-girls-allowed). Her fetishistic sculptures, fashioned from teacups, fur, high heels and other feminine domestic objects, address the themes of food, sex, death, cannibalism and bondage, always with a mischievous twist. Her famous fur-lined teacup was instantly embraced by the Surrealists as the quintessential expression of their movement.

Accomplishments

• Of all the Surrealists, she took Breton's call "to hound the mad beast of function" most literally. Her sculptures repurpose household objects intended to serve one function and suggest another, usually outrageous, fu

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  Meret Oppenheim

  Her work embodies many art movements of the 20th century, particularly Dada and Surrealism, but she is celebrated as an original thinker who followed her own vision.

  At 18, Oppenheim went to study art in Paris, where she befriended members of the Surrealist circle, including May Ray, Andre Breton, Marcel Duchamp, and Max Ernst. She established her name in the art world in 1936 with the overnight fame of her fur-lined teacup, Object(Le déjeuner en fourrure [Lunch in fur]), which became an icon of 20th-century art.

  Almost 20 years of personal turmoil and creative crisis followed as the artist slowly distanced herself from the Surrealists and moved back to Switzerland during World War II. She returned to the public spotlight in the mid-1950s, once again championing individuality and femininity.

  In addition to sculptures, Oppenheim produced paintings, drawings, jewelry, artists’ books, and mixed-media pieces. She constantly challenged society’s rigid definition o