Box #62

In the hands of Lucas Samaras, a jewelry box becomes a cabinet of curiosities. Covered in vivid yarn and glass beads, “Box #62” contains, among other things, a stuffed bird, a preserved seahorse, a set of false teeth, a pencil stub, a crab leg, three white mushroom corals, two small found photographs of men with physical deformities, and an array of nails. Rather than directing aggression toward people, the artist channels it into objects. Like his transformed chairs, these boxes serve as substitutes for violent gestures. In a 1966 “Artforum” interview with Alan Solomon, Samaras described how an aggressive material, often found in his work, can be perceived as painful and attractive in turn, compelling tactile engagement and awakening the senses. These boxes are intimate reliquaries of memory and pain, revealing unseen worlds with the obsessive sensibility of an eccentric collector eager to share his unique finds and strange possessions.