Lucas Samaras
American, born Greece, 1936-2024
Transformation: Boxes, 1966-1967
Artwork Details
Materials
twelve painted cardboard boxes in Plexiglas case with Formica base
Measurements
case (overall): 64 1/2 x 15 1/8 x 15 3/4 inches (163.83 x 38.42 x 40.01 cm)
Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1969
Accession ID
K1969:4
This cube of twelve boxes belongs to a series Lucas Samaras called “Transformations.” For each work in the series, he selected a commonplace object such as a chair, eyeglasses, or a dinner plate. He then subjected the familiar item to a series of mutations and alterations, illustrating the many permutations that were possible without completely obliterating the original object. In this work, Samaras took on the box, a form that frequently appeared in his work during the previous decade. Transformation: Boxes demonstrates how a simple object can be radically transformed and still retain its fundamental character.
Label from Lucas Samaras: Reflections, June 21, 2014–January 4, 2015
