Phillips Announces Joel Mesler for June Dropshop Amid Market Fervor for the Artist in New York
Produced in Collaboration with Brand X Editions, Six Limited Edition
Prints to be Available Beginning 25 June at 10am EDT
NEW YORK – 24 JUNE 2024 – Phillips is pleased to present Joel Mesler for the upcoming June Drop, featuring six individual Balloon prints created in collaboration with Brand X Editions titled Pool Party - Balloon Portfolio (Us, Joy, Mom, You, Me, Hope). Available starting at 10am EDT on 25 June, these prints, which are from an edition of just forty-five, can be purchased for $3,500 each or $14,000 for the suite of six, which comes with a screen printed folio and colophon sheet and custom rope closure. In Pool Party - Balloon Portfolio, Mesler's words, rendered as red metallic balloons, convey concepts meaningful to both the artist and his audience, such as "Joy," "Hope," "You," and "Me." These balloons, in Mesler's signature taut Mylar style, float atop hand-dyed paper, communicating a sense of love and joy.
Timed with his newly opened exhibition at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, Joel Mesler: Kitchens are good rooms to cry in, a public installation titled Pool Party will take place in Rockefeller Center, featuring the words from the Balloon prints displayed on flags starting 2 July. Through the exhibition at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, Mesler explores and reflects on his personal journey, spanning from his youth in Los Angeles to his current life. Through the Pool Party activation at Rockefeller, Mesler invites passersby to experience the balloon flags and carry a sense of positivity throughout their day. By transforming these words into prints and editions for the June Dropshop, Mesler offers people a chance to bring these joyful sentiments into their home. Open to interpretation, his work encourages viewers to delve into their emotions and share stories with others, engaging with his art at a level that resonates with them.
Joel Mesler said, “As my 20th collaboration with Brand X Editions, it is an exciting moment to present my Pool Party – Balloon Portfolio series, soon to be on view as a public installation in Rockefeller Center, in a print format through Phillips’ Dropshop. I would have loved to experience coming to a place like Rockefeller and seeing these things, these words specifically. And so I thought, why not make prints and get these words into people’s homes and let them experience the joy of feeling these words themselves. I hope these pieces bring as much happiness and inspiration to others as they have brought to me in creating them.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Deploying words and images, Joel Mesler draws from childhood memories and life experiences to create works that meld his private impressions with cultural touchstones. Often evoking his youth in 1980s Los Angeles, his signature artistic style is characterized by bold colors, stylized patterns, bright figuration, and unique calligraphic scripts. Calling to mind diverse influences – from the imagined jungles of Henri Rousseau to forms found in 20th-century decorative arts – Mesler's works offer a wry, vulnerable examination of the place where personal and popular iconography convene. His visually polished works undergird his connection to the legacy of Pop art, while his use of text places him in a lineage of artists including Ed Ruscha and Christopher Wool.
Joel Mesler was born in 1974 in Los Angeles. He graduated from Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, and received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1999. Subsequently, he worked as an artist and art dealer in Los Angeles and New York for two decades – opening his first gallery in Los Angeles's Chinatown – and he became an early supporter of renowned artists including Henry Taylor and Rashid Johnson. While Mesler began painting in the early 2000s and continued throughout the decade, it was not until the mid-2010s that he committed to his practice. In 2014, the artist returned to drawing and painting – the practice representing a form of therapy. From this point, Mesler focused on honing his singular artistic voice, palette, and style. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Château La Coste, Aix-en-Provence (2024, forthcoming); Rockefeller Center (2024, forthcoming); Long Museum, Shanghai (2023); David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles (2023, 2021); Cheim & Read, New York (2023); LGDR, Palm Beach and London (2022); Levy Gorvy, Hong Kong (2021); Harper's Books, New York (2020); and Simon Lee, London (2018). Mesler lives and works in East Hampton, New York.
Click here for more information: https://dropshop.phillips.com/
ABOUT DROPSHOP
Dropshop, Curated by Phillips, offers exclusive Drops by creators, for collectors. Dropshop’s limited-edition releases of primary market art and objects are exclusive to the company's digital platform and conceived in partnership with the artists, collaborators, and brands shaping contemporary culture. Items are available through a timed “buy now” e-commerce model at www.phillips.com/dropshop. By redefining the dynamics of the traditional art market framework, Dropshop's goal is to connect artists, galleries, curators, institutions, and non-profit organizations with a global collecting community. Further, creators will receive a resale royalty commission for any work purchased from Dropshop that is subsequently re-offered at Phillips — an industry first.
ABOUT PHILLIPS
Phillips: where the world’s curious and bold connect with the art, design and luxury that inspires them. As a leading global platform for buying and selling 20th and 21st century works, Phillips offers dedicated expertise in the areas of Modern and Contemporary Art, Design, Photographs, Editions, Watches, and Jewels. Auctions and exhibitions are primarily held in New York, London, Geneva, and Hong Kong, with representative offices based throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Phillips offers a regular selection of live and online auctions, along with items available for immediate purchase. Phillips also offers a range of services and advice on all aspects of collecting, including private sales and assistance with appraisals, valuations, and financial planning.
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