Box #118

Details

LUCAS SAMARAS (B. 1936)
Box #118
wood box construction—rhinestones, beads, yarn, marbles, wire, nails, pins, plastic, fabric, paint, printed paper and photographic collage
open: 13 x 21 1⁄2 x 10 1⁄2 in. (33.7 x 54.6 x 27 cm.)
closed: 6 x 12 1⁄2 x 9 in. (15.2 x 31.8 x 22.9 cm.)
Executed in 1987.

Provenance

Pace Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1988

Literature

Lucas Samaras: Boxes and Mirrored Cell, exh. cat., New York: Pace Gallery, 1988: n.p. (illustrated).
M. Glimcher, ed., Adventures in Art: 40 Years at Pace, Milan, 2001, p. 357 (illustrated).
H. Barton, ed., Lucas Samaras Catalogue Raisonné: Boxes, Cahiers d'Art Institute, digital, ongoing, no. 1987.06 (illustrated).

Exhibited

New York, Pace Gallery, Lucas Samaras: Boxes and Mirrored Cell, October-November 1988.
New York and Chicago, Phyllis Kind Gallery, 'Human Concern/Personal Torment: The Grotesque in American Art' Revisited, October 1989-January 1990, pp. 7 and 40 (illustrated).

Special notice

On occasion, Christie's has a direct financial interest in the outcome of the sale of certain lots consigned for sale. This will usually be where it has guaranteed to the Seller that whatever the outcome of the auction, the Seller will receive a minimum sale price for the work. This is known as a minimum price guarantee. This is such a lot.

Sale room notice

Please note this work is illustrated incorrectly in the mini catalogue but is illustrated correctly on the lot page on Christies.com

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Rachael White Young Vice President, Senior Specialist, Head of Core Market Sales

RRWhite@christies.com +1 917 689 5137

Lot Essay

"His pin-and-yarn-encrusted boxes echo those of Joseph Cornell, just as his life (as seen through his work) mirrors that artist’s in its insularity and in the belief it seems to evince that all of the material one needs to create art (both psychic and physical) can be found within one’s home" (M. Weinstein, “Lucas Samaras.” Artforum, Vol. 30, No. 6, February 1992, pp. 118).

Box #118

Brought to you by

Lot Essay

More from Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale