Bio
Joseph Mandel is a New York City-area artist whose work explores history, mythology, and cultural memory through figurative oil painting. He holds a BFA from the University of Michigan.
His work has been exhibited at the Salmagundi Club (New York City) and the Romano Gallery (Blairstown, New Jersey), among other venues.
Mandel's Living Archetypes series reimagines mythological and historical figures through a contemporary lens — placing them in modern clothing while retaining the symbolic objects of their original stories, rendered in thin layers of oil paint with 24-karat gold leaf. His paintings ask why certain legends persist across time and what that endurance reveals about shared human experience.
He currently lives and works in the greater New York City area.
Artist Statement
My work explores history, mythology, and cultural memory through figurative oil painting. I draw from biblical stories, folklore, historical figures, and legends that have survived across generations. I am interested in why certain stories continue to resonate and how mythology, religion, and history still shape the way people understand themselves and others today.
In my series Living Archetypes, I reimagine historical and mythological figures through a contemporary lens. I place them in modern clothing while retaining symbolic objects from their original stories. A figure may wear a black sweatshirt and sweatpants while carrying a medieval sword or wearing a breastplate. Through thin paint application and ghostlike surfaces, I create figures that feel suspended between history and memory. I want viewers to encounter them as real people, not distant symbols.
When I create art, I ask why certain legends persist across time, culture, and history. I am interested in what shared human needs or desires allow these figures to remain recognizable across different cultures and forms of media. I also consider how people of different backgrounds connect to figures from the past, both personally and visually.
My practice centers around oil painting on canvas, using thin layers of paint with mediums such as linseed oil and Gamsol. Earlier in my practice, I focused heavily on realism and technical ability. Over time, I became more interested in atmosphere, interpretation, and emotional presence. That shift pushed my work toward a looser, more contemporary visual language while still remaining grounded in traditional painting techniques. I often incorporate 24 karat gold leaf to emphasize symbolic and compositional elements. Through my work, I invite viewers to see historical and mythological figures not as remote subjects, but as human presences that still feel capable of existing today.
