Open until 9:00 PM on Tuesdays!

Project Meret Oppenheim Digital

The Meret Oppenheim Digital Project zeroes in on the diversity of materials and art techniques that Meret Oppenheim employed in her art. The heterogeneity of her art production goes hand in hand with a creative versatility and openness that still holds us in its sway today.

Meret Oppenheim’s experimental approach to making art in utilizing all kinds of materials resulted in the creation of highly fragile artworks. The artist was well aware of this and handled her works with the uttermost care. The Kunstmuseum Bern lists in its inventory 347 objects made by the artist during the period from 1930 to 1985. Over a time span of four years (2017-2021) these works will be carefully examined and digitized – thanks to the support of Helvetia Insurance. In creatively combining various digitization methods while focusing explicitly on color-reliable reference data, we have at our command a highly promising means of coupling art conservation with sustainably exhibiting artworks to the public and teaching about them.

In comparison to conventional methods, imaging today is, by means of a single high-resolution Direct Scan, extremely accurate and true to the finest details, recording the surface textures of paper or paint as well as all the creases and fine tears. Color-reliable files provide, as objectively as possible, the basis for our long-term monitoring of the condition of the items. In addition to implementing an exemplary workflow within the museum, we will also be exploring the potential of digitized material for innovative art-education strategies.