Lucas Samaras: A Surreal Exploration of Self and Perception Lucas Samaras (September 14, 1936 – March 7, 2024), born in Kastoria, Greece, stands as a pivotal figure in late 20th-century art, renowned for his distinctive approach to photography and mixed media that blends realism with unsettling distortions. His artistic journey began in the formative years of the “New Jersey School,” alongside contemporaries like Allan Kaprow, George Segal, Robert Whitman, and Roy Lichtenstein—artists who championed spontaneity and experimentation as reactions against traditional artistic conventions. This i…