Author Description

Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana presents the exhibition 'Works in dialogue from Max Ernst to Mona Hatoum', dedicated to one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century, shown here alongside major exponents of the Dada and Surrealist movements as well figures of importance on the contemporary art scene. The works exhibited reveal the close-knit relationships between Meret and the older and often already established artists of that day and age; most importantly, however, they underscore the independence of this artist, who was close to Surrealism not because she wished to emulate it, but because she saw in Breton's movement the expression of a sensibility that was similar to her own:'It is not I who looked for the Surrealists, it is they who found me'. The exhibition thus releases Meret Oppenheim from the image of muse and model that has often unfairly obscured her work in the past.