Lucas Samaras (American; Greek, 1936). Reconstruction #28, 1977. Sewn fabrics on canvas support, 104 x 77 inches (264.16 x 195.58 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Charles Clifton and Edmund Hayes Funds, 1979 (1979:2).
Although Lucas Samaras’s “Fabric Reconstructions” resemble quilts—in which fabric salvage and scraps are recuperated by their assembly into a new whole—he actually made works such as Reconstruction #28 through a process more akin to drawing. He would begin by cutting one large piece of fabric from end to end. He then re-joined the two halves by stitching in a new and different piece between them. This assembled fabric was then again cut end to end on a different angle, and a new piece added. Samaras repeated this process, introducing new angles and fabrics, until he felt the composition was resolved. Samaras’s Reconstruction #28 contains the energy of his many cuts and slices, as well as his own unique elevation of materials, such as kitschy textiles, that are not normally associated with fine art.
Label from Lucas Samaras: Reflections, June 21, 2014–January 4, 2015
