Manford’s meticulous oil pastel strokes form dynamic, prismatic interiors rich in texture and color

This is the first publication dedicated to the work of Brooklyn–based painter JJ Manford (born 1983), who curates imagined domestic spaces filled with an array of historical artworks, objects, textiles, furniture and animals. Simultaneously painterly and cinematic, his recent works highlight the coexistence of our manufactured and natural world. In an interview with Maake magazine, Manford describes his “optical mixture” as an echo of the “Impressionist and Pointillist method[s] of capturing the evasive quality of light in painting.” He creates most of his paintings on burlap, a technique inspired by Seurat’s brushwork on linen. The rough burlap imbues the surface with texture, while the distribution of paint amid the “peaks” and “valleys” creates dimension. With Seurat’s vibrant palette, Cezanne’s geometrical composition and his own fantastical imagination, Manford creates interiors that teem with energy and life.