Claude Lawrence

Claude Lawrence is a self-taught abstract artist for whom art and music have always been deeply intertwined.

Biography of Claude Lawrence

Claude Lawrence was born in 1944 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up on the South Side of Chicago, immersed in the city's vibrant arts and music scene of the 1950s and '60s. He began playing tenor saxophone in high school and quickly became a fixture in Chicago's jazz club circuit.

In 1964, he began playing clubs in New York City and officially relocated there in 1968. He spent the next 20 years touring the United States as a saxophonist.

In New York, he connected with artists such as Jack Whitten, Frederick J. Brown, and Robert Blackburn, who were also involved in jazz circles. With a longstanding interest in visual expression from his youth—and inspired by painter Norman Lewis, who frequently incorporated jazz into his abstract compositions—Lawrence gradually shifted his focus to painting over the following two decades. Lawrence decided to start painting himself in 1987.

Recent solo exhibitions of Lawrence's paintings have been held at various galleries and museums, including David Lewis Gallery in East Hampton, Anthony Meier in San Francisco, The LAB in Seattle, and Gerald Peters Gallery in New York. His works have also been featured in group shows such as "Artists Choose Parrish: Part I" at Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill (2023), "Creative Haven: Black Artists of Sag Harbor" at Long Island Museum in Stony Brook (2023), and "Two" at Keyes Gallery in Sag Harbor (2023).

Currently, the artist lives and works in New York. 

Claude Lawrence's Art Style

Lawrence's dynamic compositions blend elements of jazz and abstraction, evident in his vibrant colors, impassioned brushstrokes, and a mix of graffiti-like marks with deliberate scrawls. His more contemplative pieces exude a fluidity that resonates with frenetic energy.

His boldly colored, gestural canvases, which blend figuration and abstraction, evoke the early works of Jackson Pollock. They vividly express the rhythm and improvisational energy inherent in jazz.

Having lived a touring lifestyle as a saxophonist, Lawrence has traveled extensively across the United States, Mexico, and Europe. The ever-changing landscapes have consistently inspired him, prompting Lawrence to adapt his artistic approach and mediums based on his surroundings. His latest series, created during residencies in France and at The Church in Sag Harbor, NY, represents his most monumental paintings to date in terms of both scale and ambition.