Meret Oppenheim

Meret Oppen­heim is an artist with a free and instinc­tive creativ­ity, inquis­i­tive nature and complex person­al­ity. Her work is versa­tile, lending itself to incor­po­rate the appli­ca­tion of various artis­tic tech­niques. After her move to Paris in 1932, she worked among great masters of surre­al­ism, such as Arp, Giacometti, Breton, Man Ray, Duchamp and Max Ernst – who became her inti­mate compan­ion. The surre­al­ist move­ment had great influ­ence in Oppenheim’s life but never­the­less she created her own identity. 

Her most famous work ​“Déje­uner en four­rure” (Break­fast in fur), was purchased by Alfred H. Barr from Charles Ratton Gallery for the MoMA in New York, and dates back to these years. Back to Paris in 1939, she took part in the exhi­bi­tion on ​“imag­i­nary” furni­ture with Max Ernst and Leonor Fini; in that event, she presented Traccia, the famous table with bird’s legs.