“…To be a human being may be a very messy thing, but to be an artist is something else entirely, because art is religion, art is sex, art is society. Art is everything.” Lucas Samaras
Lucas Samaras’s art has always mystified me. Although I am a late convert to his work, I recognize the passion and energy when I see it. The constant striving. The ongoing pursuit of beauty. The relentless creation.
Along with his drive, there’s a psychological depth to his work and an intense self-awareness that I find irresistibly disturbing, and often scary. Lucas Samaras is playing for keeps.
His latest (and thirty-third) exhibit, XYZ, opened today at Pace gallery. For the uninitiated, here’s a fascinating trailer from a forthcoming documentary about his life, along with an excellent interview by his longtime friend and dealer, Arne Glimcher. –Lane Nevares
Lucas Samaras, (1936-2024), RIP.
“…Art is everything.”