The Lost Bar, coastal mythology, and an evolving world of sculptural portraiture

In Justin Gaffrey’s Narratives, a curious world of characters and encounters emerges along Florida's Gulf Coast. Women, men, dogs, bears, and raccoons inhabit an imaginative landscape where childhood folktales, coastal wildlife, and the mysteries of hidden lagoons converge in a growing collection of portrait-inspired sculptural paintings.

These compositions carry the spirit of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, where Americana meets Surrealism.

The familiar setting of a neighborhood bar becomes a stage for the unexpected, as everyday encounters unfold through curious happenstance. The Lost Bar exists somewhere between memory and invention, its inhabitants participating in an evolving mythology distinctly Gaffrey's own.

Featured below—Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942. From: The Art Institute of Chicago, Fifty-third Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture. Chicago: 1942 - Public Domain

“The perspective is skewed, as a vision to another place and time is established by the curious perspectives of all those featured in their respective act of the play.”

As Justin’s narratives evolve, Gaffrey takes more time to purposely define his storytelling through sculptural textures, vivid colors, and flowing textiles.

Expressive portraiture intersects with richly dimensional florals, patterned interiors, and architectural details, making the physicality of paint an essential part of each composition.

Together, these works introduce another dimension to Justin Gaffrey's artistic practice, where character, atmosphere, and material expression establish a visual language that is at once familiar, surreal, and unmistakably his own.

Explore Justin Gaffrey’s Narratives, featuring original sculptural paintings at the Justin Gaffrey Gallery in Blue Mountain Beach, Florida, along Scenic Highway 30A.