MERET OPPENHEIM
Hauser & Wirth Basel is pleased to present a solo exhibition of works by German-born Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim (1913 – 1985).
June 4 – July 19, 2025
An artist of powerful originality and singular vision, the German-born Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim (1913 – 1985) remains one of the most dynamic figures of 20th-century art. Despite being affiliated with some of the most influential art movements of the 20th Century, including Surrealism and Dada, Oppenheim defied categorization.
Born in Berlin, Oppenheim moved to Southern Germany and Switzerland as a child, living in various places including Delémont and Basel. In 1932, at the age of 18, she travelled to Paris to become an artist. Marking this turning point in her career is a rarely exhibited, early watercolor painted on the writing paper of Hotel Odessa in Montparnasse from the same year. Soon after, Oppenheim found herself part of a circle that included Alberto Giacometti, Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp, André Breton and Max Ernst, among many others. Though often eclipsed by the international success of ‘Object’ (or ‘Déjeuner en fourrure’), 1936)—the fur-covered cup, saucer and spoon that remains her most well-known work—Oppenheim’s artistic output already included drawings, oil paintings, collages and assemblages during this time.
Oppenheim returned to Switzerland in 1937, escaping her early fame in Paris following the sensation of ‘Object’. Living in Basel, she enrolled at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule to study restoration, conservation and painting. Her oil paintings and drawings from this time show a new focus on personal, often melancholic subject matter, reflecting upon the dark years of the 1930s and the outbreak of World War II.
Though too often associated with Surrealism, Oppenheim objected to being claimed by any one movement or style. ‘I simply always did what I felt like doing, anything else wouldn’t agree with the way I work,’ she explained. ‘Committing to a particular style would’ve bored me to death.’ Rather than tracing the evolution of Oppenheim’s multifaceted artistic practice, the exhibition celebrates its varied and singular nature.