Meret Oppenheim

Meret Oppenheim (1913-1985) was an artist like no other. She found early fame with the Surrealists, but she would transcend that group to become one of the most important Swiss cultural figures of the 20th century.

Meret Oppenheim travelled to Paris at the age of just 18, and within a few years she became both Surrealist artist and muse. Though she would not remain allied to Surrealism after leaving the city, assemblage forever informed her work. Oppenheim’s oeuvre encompassed drawing, painting, sculpture, writing, furniture, clothing and jewellery; she made no distinction between these genres, and ideas were frequently remade in different forms. She was a passionate participant in the Basel carnival; in her works, costumes or adornment offer disguise and permit playfulness. Her jewellery also suggests that the wearer might take on the properties of what they wear, as if they could gain the characteristics of a reptile by donning a jewel in the form of a snake, for instance. Her objects can equally appear to misuse materials, or to disobey the prescribed rules for female adornment. Meret Oppenheim created such combinations fearlessly, delighting in humorous and edgy subversion that has serious intent nonetheless.