JOEL MESLER
b. 1974, United StatesDeploying words and images, Joel Mesler draws from childhood memories and life experiences to create paintings that meld his private impressions with cultural touchstones, illuminating elements of universal human consciousness. Often evoking the artist’s youth in 1980s Los Angeles, Mesler’s signature style encompasses bold colours, stylised patterns, bright figuration, and the artist’s unique calligraphic scripts—bearing artfully rendered phrases such as YOU DESERVE GREAT THINGS, PLAY THE HITS, HOPES & DREAMS. Calling to mind diverse influences from the imagined jungles of Henri Rousseau to forms found in 20th-century decorative arts, Mesler’s canvases offer a wry, vulnerable examination of where personal and popular iconography convene.
Born in 1974 in Los Angeles, Mesler received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1999. His work has been the subject of exhibitions at LGDR, Palm Beach and London (2022); Lévy Gorvy, Hong Kong (2021); David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles (2021); Harper’s Books, New York (2020); and Simon Lee, London (2018). The artist will have a forthcoming solo survey at the Long Museum, Shanghai. He lives and works in East Hampton, New York.
Courtesy Lévy Gorvy Dayan
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