Di Donna Galleries is pleased to announce a focused presentation of works by Surrealist pioneer Meret Oppenheim, at TEFAF New York 2023. The presentation spans her five-decade career and features objects, works on paper, mixed media, and oil paintings, including several works that were part of the recent retrospective of Oppenheim at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
A German-born Swiss artist, Oppenheim (1913–1985) famously resisted any formal categorization of her work, and even her Surrealist origin as an artist, but she was unafraid to explore the unconventional and, by doing so, defied societal expectations and inspired countless artists. Throughout her career she created objects, paintings, drawings, furniture, poetry, and fashion accessories that are illustrative of her independent mind, spirituality, and ultimately her femininity, which she fiercely asserted later in life. Oppenheim’s boundary-breaking practice has rightly received renewed attention and will continue to captivate and inspire new generations of artists.
Highlights of Di Donna’s TEFAF presentation include L'Écureuil (Squirrel), 1969, a sculpture that combines a beer stein with a squirrel tail, resulting in an aptly Surrealist work that defies the audience’s expectations; Waldinneres mit Dryaden (Forest Interior with Dryades), 1967, a complex assemblage that speaks to Oppenheim’s ongoing interest in nature; and Personnages (Figures), 1951, a work on paper that showcases the artist’s explorations in abstraction.
