Joel Mesler (b. 1974, Los Angeles) creates paintings that explore universal themes through the lens of autobiography, humour, self-deprecation and unexpected compositional juxtapositions. Drawing on childhood memories, his work reflects on design, popular iconography and the fluid, ever-changing nature of painting itself. In recent years, Mesler has increasingly focused on the idea of acceptance, allowing emotions and the cultural forms through which they are expressed to occupy a central place in his practice.

He has also expanded his visual vocabulary, introducing new motifs into the patterned backgrounds that structure his compositions and developing increasingly complex approaches to typography. The wry surrealism of his work and its emphasis on words and phrases place his paintings in conversation with artists such as Ed Ruscha and Christopher Wool, both of whom have explored the relationship between text and image. Yet Mesler’s concerns remain deeply personal. Beneath their playful surfaces, his paintings ask profound questions about identity, transformation and the processes through which pain can give way to healing.

Mesler has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at leading institutions and galleries worldwide. Recent presentations include Mountains and Flowers, a two-person exhibition with Nir Hod at Patricia Low Contemporary, Gstaad (2026); A Hug from the Art World, New York (2025); exhibitions at Paradise City, Korea (2025), Guild Hall, East Hampton (2025), and the Nassima Landau Art Foundation, Tel Aviv (2025); as well as projects at Rockefeller Center, New York (2024), Château La Coste, France (2024), Lévy Gorvy Dayan, New York (2024), the Long Museum West Bund, Shanghai (2023), David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles (2023), Lévy Gorvy, Hong Kong (2021), Harper’s Books, East Hampton (2020), and Simon Lee, London (2018).

Mesler lives and works in East Hampton, New York.