Meret Oppenheim. Grabbing life by the tail

German by birth and Swiss by adoption, Oppenheim (1913-1985) was one of the most eclectic artists of the last century. Johan & Levi has published the biography dedicated to her, signed by Martina Corgnati, which traces her private and artistic life, deepening the emotional relationships, the working methods and irrepressible creativity, with surprises and revelations that emerge from his correspondence. This biography is the inspiration for the meeting with Alessandro Nigro and the author, introduced by Valentina Gensini.

Woman, artist, outsider, icon: from the fulminating debut with Breakfast in fur, destined to open the doors of MoMA to her little more than twenty years old, to the long and arduous journey undertaken to get rid of any artistic, ideological and gender label, Oppenheim is one of the few female figures in history who have become legendary for daring to challenge rules and millennial prejudices in the name of an authentic vocation.

An artistic and existential vocation that will lead her to choices and positions of break far from easy, not only against the well-thinking society of the time but also against the insidious prejudices that cannot be said immune the artistic and literary milieu of her time. Muse venerated by Man Ray, irreverent pupil of Breton, the artist moves along the century accomplice and herself protagonist of the great experiments of the twentieth century.

From the approach to the theories of Carl Gustav Jung to the dazzling encounter with the surrealists, from the long struggle with depression to the inexorable attraction that only twenty years the fatally ties to Max Ernst, from the intense and deep artistic partnership with Alberto Giacometti to the secret and hitherto unknown friendship with Marcel Duchamp, Martina Corgnati traces an accurate and exciting portrait of the woman and artist who had the courage to shout at women of all times: «Freedom is not given to us, we must take it».

The volume was produced with the support of Prohelvetia – Fondazione Svizzera per la cultura.