Joel Mesler

Joel Mesler (b. 1974, Los Angeles) graduated from Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, and received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1999. Subsequently, he worked as an artist and art dealer in Los Angeles and New York for two decades – opening his first gallery in Los Angeles's Chinatown – and became an early supporter of renowned artists including Henry Taylor and Rashid Johnson. While Mesler began painting in the early 2000s and continued throughout the decade, it was not until the mid-2010s that he committed to his practice. In 2014, the artist returned to drawing and painting – the practice representing a form of therapy. From this point, Mesler focused on honing his singular artistic voice, palette, and style.

Deploying words and images, Joel Mesler draws from childhood memories and life experiences to create works that meld his private impressions with cultural touchstones. Often evoking his youth in 1980s Los Angeles, his signature artistic style is characterized by bold colors, stylized patterns, bright figuration, and unique calligraphic scripts. Calling to mind diverse influences – from the imagined jungles of Henri Rousseau to forms found in 20th-century decorative arts – Mesler's works offer a wry, vulnerable examination of the place where personal and popular iconography convene. His visually polished works undergird his connection to the legacy of Pop art, while his use of text places him in a lineage of artists including Ed Ruscha and Christopher Wool.  

His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Château La Coste, Aix-en Provence (2024, forthcoming); Rockefeller Center (2024, forthcoming); Long Museum, Shanghai (2023); David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles (2023, 2021); Cheim & Read, New York (2023); LGDR, Palm Beach and London (2022); Levy Gorvy, Hong Kong (2021); Harper's Books, New York (2020); and Simon Lee, London (2018). Mesler lives and works in East Hampton, New York.