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Lucas Samaras is representing Greece at the 53rd Venice Biennale. He will present the multi-installation “PARAXENA” in the Greek Pavilion in the Giardini della Biennale. “PARAXENA” (meaning strange in Greek) brings together three recent series of photographic and video works produced between 2005 and 2009, juxtaposed with a discrete group of sculptural works from the mid 1960s. ‘PARAXENA’ sets up a conversation across four decades of Lucas Samaras’ practice, establishing a historical context for the recent departures in his work.
Upon entering the pavilion the viewer will be confronted by an image of themselves, reflected in the mirrored sculpture ‘Doorway’ (1966-2007): a scenario that initiates a narrative that runs throughout ‘PARAXENA’, where the act of being observed and the activity of observing are central concerns.
Lucas Samaras (b. 1936, Kastoria, Macedonia, Greece) is widely known for creating a diverse body of work including sculpture, drawings, paintings, film and environments, many of which explore his own image as subject matter. He has innovatively combined materials such as beads, chicken wire, clay, Cor-ten steel, fabric, pastel, pencil, pins, plaster, and oil, and developed and/or experimented with new techniques and mediums, such as the Polaroid, which have had profound impact on younger artists.
All images and information via www.paraxenavenice.gr
Beer can butterflies - artist statement
" Who leaves these crushed beer cans – forlorn evidence scattered in the streets of the city? I take these “dead soldiers” – every one of them once raised to someone’s lips – and breathe new life into them, changing them into images that suggest the possibility of change itself. A kind of conceptual unity develops between materials, process and imagery: my practice in the studio mimics the act of transformation that butterflies symbolize everywhere, in all cultures."
" The beer can butterflies are like snowflakes, no two exactly alike. Many are imprinted with the textures of the streets of New York, embossed by the printing press of passing traffic. While each element is unique, individual, they are rarely alone. They rest or fly en masse, flowing in the same direction or diverging, each on its own path – a dream of harmony and community." (via Paul Villinski.com)
Shadow drawings - artist statement
" "Simple magic:” a kind of very modest alchemy. Start with humble, cast off materials, in this case a few dozen flattened, littered beer cans from the streets, wire from Canal Street Surplus, tiny bulbs from Radio Shack. Get out the scissors, files, and soldering iron. You're thinking: “the whole greater than the sum of the parts.... Make the things you are making nearly dissappear; all you want is their shadows. Not vine charcoal, not gouache, shadow.” Open a window and a little surprise arrives: a breeze brings a shadow to life; now search for the center of gravity and build-in the possibility of motion...add a small fan and the walls turn animate: at the month’s end a gently fluttering shadow garden of nocturnal flora and fauna." (via Paul Villinski.com)
All images via Paul Villinski.com
