Reconstruction #104

Between 1978 and 1981, Lucas Samaras presented his “Reconstructions” in six solo exhibitions. “Reconstruction #104” is among the final works in this large series, which he began in late 1976. With only scissors and a sewing machine, Samaras cut and sewed printed fabrics into abstract patchwork compositions that recall the gestural language of action painting. Created in the wake of his mother’s death in 1975, these pieces act as epitaphs. As Samaras noted in interviews, he crafted them as “shrouds to wrap her in”—a tender act of mourning and a son’s homage. They also carry the artist’s identity—a reconstruction of the self as a body, a face, a memory. “Reconstruction #104” is composed of black fabric strips evoking the linearity of highways, forming a pattern of intersecting strips, in a piece full of rhythm and movement, imbued with a feminine sensitivity, painterly richness, and a quiet, hidden poignancy that makes it uniquely powerful.