Willem de Kooning’s Legacy Meets Jazz-Inspired Abstraction at Keyes Art in Sag Harbor

A new exhibition opening July 11 explores the artistic dialogue between Abstract Expressionist Willem de Kooning and contemporary painter Claude Lawrence, whose rhythmic, improvisational works draw inspiration from jazz.

One of the East End’s most anticipated summer gallery exhibitions opens Saturday, July 11, as Keyes Art in Sag Harbor presents The Shape of Influence: Willem de Kooning & Claude Lawrence. The exhibition, on view through July 31, pairs the enduring legacy of one of America’s most influential Abstract Expressionists with the expressive, music-driven work of contemporary artist Claude Lawrence.

Claude Lawrence: An Art  Process like a Jazz Performance

For Lawrence, painting is less about creating a finished image than responding to a moment. His process unfolds much like a jazz performance—layer by layer, gesture by gesture—as each mark on the canvas informs the next. Working to the sounds of jazz legends including John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis, Lawrence approaches painting through improvisation, allowing rhythm, movement and instinct to guide each composition.

According to exhibition curator Lucas F. Natali, Lawrence’s canvases “don’t arrive fully composed.” Instead, they begin with a simple visual motif before evolving through a process of continual response. “The surface becomes a record of listening,” Natali writes. “You can see him pause, erase, re-hit the same note. That’s the jazz in him: timing over planning, call-and-response over blueprint.”

William de Kooning: Gesture Carries Meaning

That improvisational spirit is balanced by the unmistakable influence of Willem de Kooning, whose bold, expressive brushwork transformed postwar American art. Rather than imitate the Abstract Expressionist master, Lawrence builds upon de Kooning’s belief that gesture itself carries meaning.

“De Kooning taught that a line can be both brutal and tender in the same gesture,” Natali notes. “Lawrence took that permission and ran it through a jazz filter.”

Conversations Across Generations

The exhibition suggests a conversation across generations. While de Kooning often wrestled figures into abstraction through force and relentless revision, Lawrence allows forms to emerge organically through rhythm and repetition. Both artists share an understanding that painting records time—whether measured through months of revision or the unfolding arc of a musical solo.

Natali describes Lawrence’s paintings as works that “feel played, not made,” emphasizing that the connection between the two artists is rooted less in style than in artistic philosophy. “The de Kooning influence isn’t stylistic borrowing,” he writes. “It’s lineage: learning that the hand can think better than the mind, and trusting the gesture to carry the truth.”

 Legacy of Abstract Expressionism Meets the Language of Jazz

Opening Saturday, July 11, The Shape of Influence: Willem de Kooning & Claude Lawrence offers Hamptons art lovers an opportunity to experience two artists connected by gesture, movement and the freedom of expression—one through the groundbreaking legacy of Abstract Expressionism, the other through the improvisational language of jazz.

The Shape of Influence: Willem de Kooning & Claude Lawrence

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 11

Exhibition Dates: July 11–31

Location: Keyes Art, 45 Main St., Sag Harbor – juliekeyesart.com

Angela LaGreca

Editor, Co-Founder/Publisher

Angela LaGreca, Editor-in-chief and co-Founder/Publisher of Spark Hamptons, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, writer and comedian/host. Her TV credits include NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “The View,” and, most recently, the primetime cable news program “Cuomo” on NewsNation. On the East End, she was the Creative Director at LTV, VP Features/Events/Photo Editor at Dan’s Papers, and has performed at Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater and the WHBPAC. Her publishing career began at Modern Photography, where she was managing editor. LaGreca lives in Manhattan and East Hampton and can be reached at angelatvmedia@gmail.com and angela@sparkhamptons.com .