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American painter, sculptor and photographer of Greek birth, Samaras emigrated to the United States in 1948 and graduated from Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1959. He took part in the first Happenings and studied History of Art with Meyer Shapiro. In 1960, he created the first of his well-known boxes, in which he favoured opulent, coloured textures. His first boxes and constructions nearly always contained a photograph of himself. In 1964, he moved to New York where he produced another uncommon self- -portrait, Room, inspired by his claustrophobic room in New Jersey. Between 1968 and 1977, he took part in documenta 4 and 6 in Kassel and, in 1969, he began photographic works in which he used his own body as a theme. Samaras continues to transform everyday objects, like scissors, glasses and chairs, reinventing them and constantly widening the field of exploration of this process. In 1980, he took part in the Venice Biennale and, in 1981, he began to line his monumental bronze sculptures with silver or gold. At an exhibition in the same year, he presented pastel works and his book of drawings which showed the diversity of his work on paper. In 1988-89, a major retrospective was held where all his works with various materials were represented. This exhibition took place in six major North American museums.

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