Joel Mesler is a New York–based artist whose paintings filter autobiography, humour and self-deprecation through bold pattern, tropical motif and statement. Drawing on childhood memory, Jewish heritage and his own history of addiction, Joel turns the personal into the universal – pairing words like shame, forgiveness and joy with decorative surfaces that recall wallpaper, pop art and signage. Joel's art sits in dialogue with the language-driven paintings of Ed Ruscha and Christopher Wool, while remaining distinctly his own. Before committing fully to his practice, he spent two decades as an art dealer in Los Angeles and New York. He has exhibited internationally, with solo shows at David Kordansky Gallery, Château La Coste and Long Museum West Bund, Shanghai.