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JJ Manford — Costa Rican Hostel with Green Parrot & Paul Klee Drawing
JJ Manford

Costa Rican Hostel with Green Parrot & Paul Klee Drawing

2023

Costa Rican Hostel with Green Parrot & Paul Klee Drawing places the viewer inside a quietly charged interior, where the ordinariness of transient accommodation becomes a site of unexpected visual richness. JJ Manford constructs the scene through oil stick, oil pastel, and Flashe on linen, a combination that produces surfaces ranging from dense and waxy to flat and chalky, giving the composition a layered tactility that rewards close looking. A green parrot and a reference to Paul Klee coexist within the hostel setting, folding together the natural world, the vernacular, and the history of modern art in a way that feels casual rather than labored, as if these elements simply belong in the same room together. Manford works within a tradition of artists who find psychological weight in domestic and semi-domestic interiors, yet the work resists nostalgia or sentimentality through its frank, almost notational approach to rendering. The linen support lends a warmth and slight irregularity to the ground that complements the handmade quality of the marks throughout. At 91.4 by 114.3 centimeters, the painting holds a human scale that makes the depicted space feel inhabitable rather than remote, drawing collectors into a scene that is simultaneously specific and open to projection. Represented by Derek Eller Gallery and dated 2023, this work arrives from a productive period in which Manford has steadily deepened a practice concerned with observation, memory, and the small dignities of everyday life. The signed canvas is offered unframed, allowing new owners to approach its presentation with flexibility. Works of this character and intimacy have found consistent homes with collectors drawn to contemporary painting that is emotionally intelligent without being programmatic.

Medium
Oil stick, oil pastel, and Flashe on linen
Overall
Signed
Yes
Location
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, NY

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About this work

JJ Manford, Costa Rican Hostel with Green Parrot & Paul Klee Drawing, 2023

Costa Rican Hostel with Green Parrot & Paul Klee Drawing places the viewer inside a quietly charged interior, where the ordinariness of transient accommodation becomes a site of unexpected visual richness. JJ Manford constructs the scene through oil stick, oil pastel, and Flashe on linen, a combination that produces surfaces ranging from dense and waxy to flat and chalky, giving the composition a layered tactility that rewards close looking. A green parrot and a reference to Paul Klee coexist within the hostel setting, folding together the natural world, the vernacular, and the history of modern art in a way that feels casual rather than labored, as if these elements simply belong in the same room together. Manford works within a tradition of artists who find psychological weight in domestic and semi-domestic interiors, yet the work resists nostalgia or sentimentality through its frank, almost notational approach to rendering. The linen support lends a warmth and slight irregularity to the ground that complements the handmade quality of the marks throughout. At 91.4 by 114.3 centimeters, the painting holds a human scale that makes the depicted space feel inhabitable rather than remote, drawing collectors into a scene that is simultaneously specific and open to projection. Represented by Derek Eller Gallery and dated 2023, this work arrives from a productive period in which Manford has steadily deepened a practice concerned with observation, memory, and the small dignities of everyday life. The signed canvas is offered unframed, allowing new owners to approach its presentation with flexibility. Works of this character and intimacy have found consistent homes with collectors drawn to contemporary painting that is emotionally intelligent without being programmatic.

Medium
Oil stick, oil pastel, and Flashe on linen
Dimensions
overall: 91.4 x 114.3 cm
Year
2023
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, NY

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Collected by

Gavin Kennedy