Meret Oppenheim: My Exhibition opens at the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas before making its way to the MoMA in New York in October. The first retrospective in the U.S. in over twenty-five years, the exhibition includes work over the impressive output of Oppenheim’s five decade career (1913-1985). Known her for witty and unconventional mediums and approach to art, Oppenheim has gone on to inspire countless artists. Her body of work includes uncanny object constructions, geometric abstractions, jewelry designs, public sculpture, and poetry.
The Menil Collection
The Menil explains her “thematic interests as equally diverse, ranging from the natural world and mythology to gender and self hood. Her practice defies neat categorizations of style, medium, and historical movement. “Nobody will give you freedom,” she stated in 1975, “you have to take it.”
“_Meret Oppenheim: My Exhibition _is the result of a particularly close partnership between the Kunstmuseum Bern, MoMA, and the Menil. As a museum with a strong collection of Surrealist art, the Menil is proud to host the American debut of this important retrospective of Oppenheim’s wide-ranging and expansive career.”
Rebecca Rabinow, Director of the Menil Collection
“It has been a thrill to dive into Oppenheim’s boldly imaginative work, and to do so alongside the Menil’s curatorial partners in Bern and in New York. With this career-spanning retrospective, which brings many artworks to the U.S. for the first time, we look forward to introducing a new generation of art lovers and museum goers to this artist.”
Natalie Dupêcher, Associate Curator of Modern Art, the Menil Collection
Explore a preview of the exhibition below, courtesy of the Menil Collection.
Meret Oppenheim, Quick, Quick, the Most Beautiful Vowel is Voiding (Husch-husch, der schönste Vokal entleert sich), on recto M.E. par M.O./M.E. by M.O., 1934. Oil on canvas, 17 15/16 x 25 5/8 in. (45.5 x 65 cm). Bürgi Collection, Bern. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, Ma gouvernante – My Nurse – Mein Kindermädchen, 1936/1967. Metal plate, shoes, string, and paper, 5 1/2 x 13 x 8 1/4 in. (14 x 33 x 21 cm). Moderna Museet, Stockholm. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, The Night, Its Volume and What Endangers It (La nuit, son volume et ce qui lui est dangereux), 1934. Gouache and oil on board, 31 5/8 × 25 3/8 in. (80.3 × 64.5 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston, Purchased in part with funds provided by the John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, M.O.: My Exhibition (M.O.: Mon Exposition), 1983. Pencil, colored pencil, and ballpoint pen on paper, 25 1/2 x 19 11/16 in. (64.8 x 50 cm). Bürgi Collection, Bern. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, Sitting Figure with Folded Hands (Sitzende Figur mit verschränkten Fingern), 1933. Oil on cardboard in artist’s frame, 23 7/8 x 17 1/8 in. (60.6 x 43.5 cm). Kunstmuseum Bern. Meret Oppenheim Bequest. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, Fur Gloves with Wooden Fingers (Pelzhandschuhe), 1936. Fur, wood, and nail polish, 2 x 8 1/4 x 3 7/8 in. (5 x 21 x 10 cm). Ursula Hauser Collection, Switzerland. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, The Secret of Vegetation (Das Geheimnis der Vegetation), 1972. Oil on canvas, 6 ft. 4 1/4 in. x 38 3/16 in. (195 x 97 cm). Hermann und Margrit Rupf Foundation. Kunstmuseum Bern. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, Six Clouds on a Bridge (Sechs Wolken auf einer Brücke), 1975. Bronze,18 7/16 x 24 x 6 1/8 in. (46.8 x 61 x 15.5 cm). Kunstmuseum Bern. Meret Oppenheim Bequest. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, Under the Raincloud (Unter der Regenwolke), 1961–64. Oil, gouache, molded substance (Rugosit), and fiberboard (Pavatex) on wood, 39 1/4 x 28 1/4 in. (101 x 73 cm). Hermann und Margrit Rupf Foundation. Kunstmuseum Bern.
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, The Green Spectator (Der grüne Zuschauer), 1959. Oil on limewood with copper sheet, 65 3/8 x 19 5/16 x 5 15/16 in. (166 x 49 x 15 cm). Kunstmuseum Bern. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, Red Head, Blue Body (Roter Kopf, Blauer Körper), 1936. Oil on canvas, 31 5/8 x 31 5/8 in. (80.2 x 80.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Meret Oppenheim Bequest. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
Meret Oppenheim, Daphne and Apollo (Daphne und Apollo), 1943. Oil on canvas, 55 1/8 x 31 1/2 in. (140 x 80 cm). Lukas Moeschlin, Basel. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
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Meret Oppenheim, Primeval Venus (Urzeit- Venus), 1962. Painted terracotta with glazed straw, 20 7/8 x 10 1/4 x 7 1/2 in. (53 x 26 x 19 cm). Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Switzerland. Purchase with funds from the Jubilee Foundation of the Swiss Bank Corporation. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
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Meret Oppenheim, New Stars (Neue Sterne), 1977–82. Oil on canvas, 6 ft. 8 11/16 x 8 ft. 1 13/16 in. (205 x 248.5 cm). Kunstmuseum Bern. Meret Oppenheim Bequest. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
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Meret Oppenheim, Hm-hm, 1969. Acrylic on canvas; oil and gold leaf on wood; bark; and carved wood, 6 ft. 6 1/4 in. x 37 3/8 x 3 9/16 in. (200 x 95 x 9 cm). Private collection, Bern. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich