A new exhibition at Hauser & Wirth's Basel location, timed to Art Basel, reexamines the legacy of Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim, 40 years after her death. The show aims to move beyond her famous 1936 work *Object (Breakfast in Fur)*, presenting the full breadth of her practice across sculpture, painting, readymades, and wearable art. Curated by Josef Helfenstein, the exhibition positions Oppenheim as a multifaceted artist who resisted the labels of Surrealist muse and pop star, highlighting her irreverent, medium-defying approach.
This reappraisal matters because it joins a broader, urgent effort to recover overlooked 20th-century women artists and fill gaps in art history. Oppenheim's work, which challenged conventions of femininity and artistic seriousness, remains fresh and mysterious, as Helfenstein notes. The exhibition serves as a homecoming for the artist in Basel, where she lived and worked, and capitalizes on the global attention of Art Basel to expand awareness of her diverse oeuvre beyond her iconic fur-covered teacup.