Swiss artist Oppenheim was pigeonholed as a Surrealist after the sensation of her 1936 "Breakfast in Fur," which depicted a fur-lined teacup. Then 23 years old, she went on to a career of eccentric eclecticism until her death in 1985. This selection of her art, with accompanying essays, includes absurd sculptures and surreal drawings. It covers the early years, when she was close to the Surrealists (she posed for Man Ray), and spans the 18-year gap during which she destroyed almost all of her work in a crisis of confidence.
From Library Journal
This catalog to an exhibition currently touring New York, Chicago, Miami, and Omaha seeks to bring deeper knowledge of the Swiss artist who created the renowned fur-covered spoon and teacup held by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, since 1936. As the authors of the four essays contained here repeatedly point out, neither the creator of that surrealist masterpiece nor her greater creative output, which spanned five decades, is much known in the United States, in spite of that one piece's distinction. The fine color plates illustrating nearly the 100 paintings, drawings, collages, and constructions in the show make up the bulk of this book, and they should go far in attracting converts to the artist's often amusing, sometimes sublime work. Unfortunately, in addition to being repetitive, the essays lack the vitality of the work they discuss. Still, given Oppenheim's importance within art circles and the paucity of materials on her (MIT has let Bice Curiger's 1989 biography/ catalogue raisonne go out of print), this overview belongs in all academic and most public collections on 20th-century art.?Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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