Méret Oppenheim (1913-1985) | Towards Emancipation?

Méret Oppenheim’s fetishistic sculptures, fashioned from items such as teacups, fur, high heels and other feminine domestic objects, address themes of food, sex, death, cannibalism and bondage, always with a mischievous twist. Born into a family of Swiss analysts, Oppenheim was well versed in psychoanalytic theory and applied it to her work. Oppenheim constantly challenged society’s rigid definition of male and female as well as the fine line between reality and dreams. Her famous fur-lined teacup, Object was embraced by the Surrealists as the quintessential expression of their movement and became an icon of 20th-century art. Oppenheim broke the glass ceiling of Surrealism by addressing fantasy, dominance and submission.

Méret Oppenheim (German-born Swiss, 1913-1985) Object, 1936. Cup: 10.9 cm in diameter; saucer: 23.6 cm in diameter; spoon; 20.2 cm; overall height 7.3 cm Museum of Modern Art

Méret Oppenheim (German-born Swiss, 1913-1985) Giacometti’s Ear, 1933-77

Méret Oppenheim (German-born Swiss, 1913-1985) Guéridon dit Traccia, c. 2000 Wood, bronze 64 x 68 x 53 cm Private Collection

Sources:

https://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/meret-oppenheim
http://www.theartstory.org/artist-oppenheim-meret.htm
https://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/meret-oppenheim