Raymond Hains, by Jean-Marie Gallais
A founding member of the Nouveau Realisme group, French artist Raymond Hains (1926–2005) was a perpetually restless innovator. In the 1940s he experimented with photograms and optical distortion; in the 1950s, he took torn posters from billboards and reprised them as paintings, pioneering an abstract realism, while also collaborating with the Lettrists; in 1960 he cofounded Nouveau Realisme alongside Klein, Spoerri, Tinguely and others, transposing construction hoardings into the gallery space and continuing his affichiste activities. In the ‘70s Hains worked with suitcases and narrative photographs; in his final phase, he devised his "macintoshages," collages of pop-up windows grabbed from a computer screen, and developed neon sculptures after the Borromean knots of Jacques Lacan.
A founding member of the Nouveau Realisme group, French artist Raymond Hains (1926–2005) was a perpetually restless innovator. In the 1940s he experimented with photograms and optical distortion; in the 1950s, he took torn posters from billboards and reprised them as paintings, pioneering an abstract realism, while also collaborating with the Lettrists; in 1960 he cofounded Nouveau Realisme alongside Klein, Spoerri, Tinguely and others, transposing construction hoardings into the gallery space and continuing his affichiste activities. In the ‘70s Hains worked with suitcases and narrative photographs; in his final phase, he devised his "macintoshages," collages of pop-up windows grabbed from a computer screen, and developed neon sculptures after the Borromean knots of Jacques Lacan.
This book―the first comprehensive Hains monograph, created in collaboration with the artist’s estate―follows his 60-year career, elaborating its context and references.
Raymond Hains (1926-2005), French artist and cofounder of Nouveau Realisme, had a knack for the visually arresting. This book chronicles his career, explaining his significance in light of historical and artistic trends, and includes a 2003 conversation with the artist. This collection of his works is valuable as it allows the reader to trace his transformations and experimentations over the decades. From his reimagining of torn posters, to his sculptures made of fluorescent tubes, to his computer-inspired collages, Hains had no shortage of ideas. Even his simpler works are eye-catching. Échelle optométrique (1990) mimics an optometrist’s vision test, but the letterforms are lumpy and distorted, and the viewer’s brain tries fruitlessly to make sense of the assorted letters.
Raymond Hains (1926-2005), French artist and cofounder of Nouveau Realisme, had a knack for the visually arresting. This book chronicles his career, explaining his significance in light of historical and artistic trends, and includes a 2003 conversation with the artist. This collection of his works is valuable as it allows the reader to trace his transformations and experimentations over the decades. From his reimagining of torn posters, to his sculptures made of fluorescent tubes, to his computer-inspired collages, Hains had no shortage of ideas. Even his simpler works are eye-catching. Échelle optométrique (1990) mimics an optometrist’s vision test, but the letterforms are lumpy and distorted, and the viewer’s brain tries fruitlessly to make sense of the assorted letters.
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