Swiss Review / April 2022 / No.2 10 Images Since 1983,Waisenhausplatz (Orphanage Square), just around the corner from the Berne Museum of Fine Arts 200 metres away, has been home to “The Spiral Column” – a fountain that artistMeret Oppenheim (1913–85) created two years before her death. Water drips down the tower-like structure, now covered at the top in plants, mosses and lichens. Icicles formwhen the water freezes. Initial reaction to the artist’s work was also chilly. Locals called it the “column of shame”, or even the “urinal”. The fountain was certainly a talking point. It also showed how little the world-renownedMeret Oppenheimcared about Sipping from a furry teacup what other people thought of her work. Almost 40 years later, the BerneMuseumof Fine Arts has been hosting a retrospective of this incredible womanwho lived in the Swiss capital for so long. Entitled “My Exhibition”, the show provides a wide-ranging appreciation of Oppenheim’s immeasurable body of work. Oppenheim used almost every material in the book. It was her 1936 furry teacup (“Object”) that won plaudits from the outset. Oppenheimthought this iconicwork was just quite strange, whereas the art world fell over itself to imbue the teacup with meaning. Meret Oppenheim was labelled a surrealist. However, visitors to “My Exhibition” will disMy Nurse, 1936/1967 Metal platter, shoes, string, and paper; 14 x 33 x 21 cm Moderna Museet, Stockholm Photo: Albin Dahlström; 2021,©ProLitteris, Zurich
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