Free Artistic Expression on View at Keyes Art

America is based on the patriots — colonists who rebelled against British rule during the American Revolution. They adhered to a social and political philosophy that rejects monarchy and aristocracy, favoring liberty and unalienable individual rights for all.

On Saturday, October 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. “Patriots,” a new art exhibition, opens with a reception at Keyes Art in Sag Harbor, a show that speaks to freedom of expression, featuring work by William Harringtion, Andre Worrell, Jules Feiffer, María Schön and Ben Leone. The show runs through November 8.

“Free Speech is essential, and remains available,” said Keyes. The artists in this exhibition express their convictions through their work.”

William Harrington led Vietnam Combat Artists Team VII from 1967 to 1969, documenting the war through painting while accompanying infantry patrols. He and other artists had artistic freedom with the guidance to be expressive and stay busy.

Equipped with sketchbooks, paints, watercolors, pencils and Eastman Kodak 127 Brownie Instamatics, they were free to roam the war zone. They were granted significant artistic freedom with two main instructions — to be expressive and to stay busy.

The tradition of combat artists dates back to figures like Winslow Homer in the Civil War and British artists during World War II. Unlike his peers, Harrington’s work focused on emotions — grief, fear and rage — rather than combat, navigating between dissonance and theatricality, showcasing his deep passion during and after the war.

María Schön, an American artist of Venezuelan descent, currently resides and works in Sagaponack. Schön grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where she began her formal art training at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Her works are included in the collections of organizations such as Mayo Clinic, Mayora Group in Jakarta, Indonesia, Citibank in Caracas, Venezuela and Johnson & Johnson in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as in various corporate and private collections across Italy, Mexico and the United States.

Jules Feiffer is a renowned American cartoonist, celebrated as one of the country’s most read satirists. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 and is best known for his comic strip “Feiffer,” which ran in the Village Voice from 1956 to 1997. His work has been nationally syndicated since 1959, appearing in major publications like The New York Times and The New Yorker. Feiffer created the first op-ed page comic strip for The New York Times and was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.

He has authored over 35 books, including the acclaimed play “Little Murders” and the Oscar-winning animated short “Munro.” His graphic novel “Kill My Mother” won the National Cartoonist Society’s Best Graphic Novel Award. A former resident of the East End, Feiffer currently resides in upstate New York.

Multi-disciplinary artist Andre Worrell was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and moved to New York City in his late teens. His work, which employs various media and techniques, explores the contrast between beauty and the grotesque. A notable series features bold prints of stylized furniture alongside delicate birds and busts of founding fathers, creating a whimsical yet unsettling ambiance.

Worrell draws inspiration from music, politics, fairy tales and decay, often manipulating facial features as a subversive tool. His vibrant colors and textures lend a lyrical quality to his pieces. In the 1990s, he became a fixture in New York’s underground music scene as the lead singer of the rock band Mephiskapheles. Worrell is also the co-founder of the lifestyle brand Morgan and Kidd and currently lives and works on the East End.

West Palm Beach artist Ben Leone explores materials that are often overlooked in daily life, focusing on items found at construction sites and in urban environments. His ongoing pursuit is to elevate the ordinary and reveal beauty in everyday objects. By approaching his artwork from an architectural perspective, he integrates both traditional and modern techniques that have emerged from technological advances. This exploration of architecture and materials fosters a conversation about our relationship with the natural world and how we leave our mark on the planet. It also raises important topics such as globalization, population growth, and climate change.

Keyes Art is at 45 Main Street in Sag Harbor. For more Information, call 631-808-3588.