Surrealist and geometric, the new exhibition of the Kunstmuseum Bern goes beyond the "fury cup"
Meret = Berlin <-> Basel <-> Paris
Meret Oppenheim or Meret Elisabeth Oppenheim was born on the 6th of October 1913, 1 year before the start of the first world war. While she was one of three children's from her Swiss mother, Eva Wanger and her German father, Erich Alfons Oppenheim.
While she was young, she extensively traveled between Germany, Switzerland and Paris. And she constructs her childhood until her eighteen years old in Delémont, Basel and in Carona. While she visited many museums, galleries or institutions in Basel, she wanted to become a painter, and started her studies at the General Trade School (Allgemeine Gewerbeschule) in Basel.
During her eighteen years, she makes her first trip to Paris, in May 1932 with the painter Irène Zurkinden (1909 - 1987). But as she work with many artists, she returned to Basel from time to time, to refresh herself.
In September 1933, she attends the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Therefore, she merged into the Parisian art scenes with Jean Arp (1886 - 1966), Alberto Giacometti (1901 - 1966), Max Ernst (1891 - 1976) and Sophie Taeuber (Arp) (1889 - 1943).
At that time, she will take part of the Surrealist exhibition of October 1933. Therefore, she will find her way into the artistic circle of André Breton, and have a long relationship with Leonor Fini (1907 - 1996), Dora Maar (1907 - 1997), Marcel Duchamp (1887 - 1968) and Man Ray (1890 - 1976).
1936 - 1949 : two decades of extreme transformation
During those two decades, Oppenheim (and the world) had a rough day, career and life. While she had a wonderful year until the start of the Second World War, she had a tough but intriguing and interesting day between Germany, Switzerland and her immigration.
In 1936, Meret had her first solo exhibition at the Galerie Schulthess in Basel. Then, she had a long travelling exhibition with the surrealist in Paris, London and New York due to her importance and the world-famous fur-covered cup with saucer and spoon.
As the war approached, the situation of the family of Oppenheim, located in Germany was deteriorated due to their Jewish name. Therefore, she moved to Basel and relocated her family to Switzerland to have a better life during those difficult times.
Beside the war, she takes paintings classes at the GTS (General Trade School) until 1943 and created the Gruppe 33, a group of local artist (Jean Tinguely, Rudolf Maeglin, etc.).
Between 1939 and the end of the war, she remained in contact with her friends and artists, mostly with correspondence due to the distance (since they are mostly located in the USA). But, her stay in Switzerland is not that easy too, between her short residence permit and her idea to emigrate to the USA without her family.
During the war, she felt interested in stage productions, and design a series of costumes and posters for the event. Therefore, she wants to go beyond design and write her first play, titled "Kaspar Hauser oder die Golden Freheit".
In 1949, she Married Wolfgang La Roche, and obtain the Swiss nationality.
Bern, (home) town
After all of those problems and the war, Oppenheim settled in Bern where she opened an antique shop on Junkerngasse. But, she's also continuing her own practice and exhibition, such as the one of 1952 at the Galerie d'Art Moderne in Basel, owned by two old friends of the General Trade School, Marie and Suzanne Feigel.
As her art grew in importance, she decided to move her art from her small apartment into a studio on Kesslergasse in Bern. Due to this central placement in the city of Bern, the "Bern art scene" will meet regularly in the Café de Commerce to relax and talk about the new trend.
Meanwhile, the city of Bern and the Berner Kunsthalle Gallery enlarge and push the city into a major gallery and city for contemporary art. And therefore attracts national and international artists.
Since 1956, Meret will play an important role in the writing and theater industry. Started in January, she started to prepare the translation of the play of Pablo Picasso: Desire Caught by the Tail. It was then played in Bern, under the direction of her friend, Daniel Spoerri, while Meret designed the costumes and the masks.
1966 - 1985, carrier, exhibition, death and prize
While she was in Stockholm for the preparation of her first retrospective at the Moderna Musset, curated by the world-famous Pontus Hultén, Meret was afraid for her husband, Wolfgang La Roche, who will died in December of the same year, in 1966.
But, a great show doesn't mean a lot of business and sales. Therefore, the 1968 exhibition of the Galerie Krebs will show that... But, it will make her stronger to debut the preparation of the 1972 exhibition of the Kunstmuseum Bern, titled "The Other Reality".
She will now run, from Bern, Paris and Carona, preparing the 1974 exhibition of the Kunstmuseum in Solothurn, Winterthur and the one of Duisburg in Germany. Therefore, she will win multiple prizes such as the Art Prize of the city of Basel (1975), the Big Art Prize of Berlin (1982) and the commission of her fountain, on the Waisenhausplatz of Bern, in 1983.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Kunstmuseum Bern
Date: 22.10.2021 – 13.02.2022
Curators: Nina Zimmer (Director of the Kunstmuseum Bern), Nathalie Dupêcher (Curator of the Menil Collection) and Anne Umland (Curator of the Museum of Modern Art)
Ticket: Available online OR at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Kunstmuseum Bern
Holderstrasse 12
CH-3011 Bern
Phone: +41 31 328 09 44
Mail: info@kunstmuseumbern.ch