Lucas Samaras, 1936–2024

An obituary for Macedonian-American artist Lucas Samaras, described variously as ‘flamboyant’, ‘extravagant’, ‘non-conforming’, ‘against the grain’, ‘subversive’, ‘wildly individualistic’, ‘wizard-like’ and ‘pathological’. Samaras was an artist who mixed living and art-making throughout his lifetime, and this article looks at this relentlessly experimental artist who seems to have turned his hand and mind to everything. It includes a piece of reflection by the author regarding an exhibition review she wrote 20 years eariler.