© ADAGP.
In 1964, at the occasion of an exhibition at Iris Clert’s, Raymond Hains presents his first matchbooks.
They are a way of cocking a snook at the conceptual art, very in vogue then. The works are presented as the creations of two fictious artists:
- Saffa, an Italian solely dedicated to reproducing at a monumental scale matchbooks from Italian tobacco company, Saffa.
- Seita, his partner, who only reproduces French matches produced by French company Seita.
These works are not signed Hains, but Saffa / Seita © Raymond Hains.
In 1971, at the occasion of an personal exhibition at the galleria dell' Elefante, Hains achieves the second series of these works, which keep a very Pop aspect, aesthetically speaking (one could think of Oldenburg or Warhol).
