Pace Gallery will open an exhibition pairing two defining bodies of work by Lucas Samaras at its 540 West 25th Street gallery in New York. 'Lucas Samaras: Boxes and Reconstructions' runs from 6 November 2026 to 23 January 2027, with an opening reception on Wednesday 5 November from 6 to 8pm.

The show brings together the Greek-born American artist's celebrated box sculptures, made between the 1960s and the 1980s, with fabric works from his little-known 'Reconstructions' series of 1979. The 'Reconstructions', drawn from the artist's personal collection, will be shown publicly for the first time.

Samaras, who died in March 2024, was best known for his boxes - intricate assemblages of found objects, pins, photographs and mirrored surfaces that he described as three-dimensional projections of himself. The series, which runs to almost 300 unique works, moves from the relatively straightforward hinged constructions of the 1960s to the cosmic 'Box #133' of 1989.

The 'Reconstructions' offer a quieter counterpoint. Made in 1979 as a homage to his mother, the textile works allude to traditional quilt-making, and the exhibition places them in conversation with the boxes to trace how Samaras used assemblage as an assertion of identity across media.

Pace has represented Samaras since 1965, a relationship of nearly six decades, and the gallery marked its 65th anniversary year in 2025 with a series of exhibitions devoted to artists central to its programme. 'Boxes and Reconstructions' continues that strand, presenting the late artist's work to a New York audience in the gallery's Chelsea space.