Joel Mesler
b. 1974, United States
Born in Los Angeles, CA in 1974, Joel Mesler received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Mesler began painting in the early 2000s, and his work has since been shown at various exhibitions. In the past years he has held successful solo shows at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles, Harper’s Books in New York, and, mostly recently, held his first solo exhibition in Asia at Lévy Gorvy Hong Kong.
Mesler’s paintings combine popular iconography, typography, and humor. Mesler’s work is personal—he draws from his childhood memories—yet his meditations on his past shed light on universal themes. Mesler is thoughtful in his exploring of emotions and the ways in which they are viewed and ingrained in the culture. His focus on language places his paintings in dialogue with other artists who emphasize the relationship between text and image, like Ed Ruscha and Christopher Wool. Although humorous, Mesler’s paintings only appear lighthearted at first, and often pose serious questions about identity, pain, healing, and acceptance. Mesler continues to experiment visually, adding new motifs and more elaborate elements to his vibrant, surrealist, and surprising compositions.
Joel Mesler lives and works in East Hampton, New York.