sammy’s Beach The Art of Legacy, Place, and Connection
At our core, we are storytellers. Whether through video production, brand building, or sharing the legacies of remarkable individuals, our mission is to share the ideas and creations of one another. This belief drives everything we do, and it’s why Entangled, the exhibition featuring Connie Fox and William King, holds such special significance for us. This is not just an exhibition of artwork, but a personal journey for us as storytellers—one deeply intertwined with our co-founder (with partner Alexis Bruce), Levin Chaskey, and his profound relationship with Connie, his grandmother.
At the Leiber Collection's exhibition, Connie Fox & William King ~ Entangled, we’re honored to continue a story that has been quietly building through generations. It’s about a lifetime of creativity, about family, and about the quiet, enduring connection between art and place. Through this exhibition, we have the privilege of helping to preserve and share the story of two artists absorbing the magic of the place that would come to influence much of their later creative output.
A Story That Began on Sammy’s Beach
Connie Fox’s Sammy’s Beach series is a perfect example of how place, memory, and emotion can come together to form a narrative that extends beyond the physical. At the center of this series is a stretch of sand in East Hampton, New York, where Connie and William spent decades walking, talking, and reflecting. As Barry Schwabsky notes, “Sammy’s Beach is a narrow stretch of sand in the Northwest Harbor area of East Hampton… There’s a lot to take in, but not all at once.”
Connie Fox, Sammy’s Beach I, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 80 × 88". From the series “Sammy’s Beach,” 2007–14.
For Connie, this beach was more than a location—it was a source of inspiration, a place where the complexity of light, air, and memory could be transformed into her abstract compositions. The Sammy’s Beach series is more than a collection of paintings; it’s a meditation on the unseen forces that shape our experiences, much like how we see storytelling. In the same way Connie expressed the intangible qualities of this place, we aim to capture and communicate the often-overlooked layers of a person’s story—whether it’s through film, art, or content creation.
The Art of Complexity and Flow
In her work, Connie embraced the complexity of life, finding balance between chaos and calm. As Schwabsky writes of Sammy’s Beach I (2007), “a central yellow-tinged blast of gray… whooshes back into the distance,” while “swarms of bluish marks rush in from the right like white-capped waves stirred up by a storm.” These contradictions—of motion and stillness, light and shadow—reflect the multifaceted nature of both life and storytelling. We see this as a parallel of balancing the many elements that make up a person’s or brand’s story and presenting them in a way that feels authentic, layered, and alive.
It’s not just about what you see; it’s about what you feel.
Just as Connie’s paintings don’t rely on topographical accuracy but rather on the feelings they evoke, our approach to storytelling is not about facts alone—it’s about conveying the essence of what matters. The Sammy’s Beach series demonstrates how deeply personal and reflective art can be, while also connecting to broader themes of memory, perception, and place. It’s ever important to ensure that those connections are felt by audiences, allowing them to see beyond the surface and into the heart of the story.
Preserving and Amplifying Legacy
A core part of our mission is to help preserve and amplify the stories of individuals, organizations, and communities. Connie’s work offers an extraordinary example of this—her paintings, created from 2007 to 2014, capture not just a place but the internal landscape of her emotions and memories. As Schwabsky described, “Place, or memory of place, is important to me… They remain not as images, but as support.” Her paintings become a form of storytelling, capturing fleeting moments and emotions tied to a specific place.
Entangled is not just an exhibition of art—it’s a continuation of a story that has spanned generations.
Connie’s paintings resonate with the viewer through their abstract yet deeply emotional approach, they create stories that connect on an emotional level. Amplifying emotional undercurrents like these is what makes a story powerful and worth sharing.
Storytelling as an heirloom
We see ourselves as part of the continuation, playing a role in ensuring that Connie’s legacy, and the legacy of artists like her, is carried forward in a way that honors their work and their vision. In Sammy’s Beach XIV (2014), the final painting of the series, Schwabsky writes, “everything dissolves in a humid atmosphere… this canvas, the finale to the series, is not a summation but rather an ellipsis that allows the work’s resonances to echo into the unforeseen.”
It’s a beautiful reminder that stories don’t end—they continue to unfold, evolve, and resonate with new audiences.
Just as Connie Fox captured the emotional and spiritual essence of Sammy’s Beach, we strive to capture and communicate the heart of every story we tell. Whether through the lens of art, film, or sole narrative, we believe in the power of storytelling to connect, inspire, and carry legacies forward.
As you watch Entangled, we invite you to enjoy a story of place, time, and a life lived through creative expression. Inspired by and screened as part of the exhibit, this film carries forward the essence of Connie Fox’s work, weaving together layers of intention, memory, and emotion. Much like the stories we tell for others, Entangled continues to evolve with each new person who experiences it. Watch the film now on YouTube and become part of the story.