Joel Mesler (b. 1974, Los Angeles, California) is an American artist, dealer, and entrepreneur whose multifaceted career blurs the boundaries between art-making, art dealing, and institutional critique. After studying at the San Francisco Art Institute, Mesler established himself first as a gallerist, founding Rental Gallery in Los Angeles in 2004 before moving to New York where he operated several galleries including Untitled and Mesler/Feuer. This experience as a dealer provides a unique perspective that informs his artistic practice, which often examines the mechanisms of the art world itself through an autobiographical lens.

Mesler's breakthrough as an artist came relatively late in his career when he began exhibiting his own paintings more prominently around 2016. His work is characterized by bright, accessible imagery combining text, pattern, and figurative elements that draw from personal memory, childhood experiences, and psychological exploration. His signature style features loose, illustrative brushwork and a palette reminiscent of children's books, creating deceptively simple compositions that often contain deeper reflections on vulnerability, anxiety, and self-examination. Recurring motifs in his work include alphabet paintings that transform letters into autobiographical symbols, palm tree and currency imagery reflecting on wealth and status, and text-based works that expose personal insecurities with disarming directness.

In 2017, Mesler relocated to East Hampton, New York, where he opened Rental Gallery (reviving his original gallery name) while continuing to develop his painting practice. This dual identity as both dealer and artist places Mesler in a unique position to comment on art world economics and social dynamics from within. 

Joel Mesler at Château La Coste. Photo: Jessica Dalene, courtesy of the artist and David Kordansky Gallery.