Oracle, 2024
Soil, vintage collage, oil paint, acrylic paint, pastel on canvas
72 in. x 60 in. / 182.88 cm. x 152.4 cm.
Mario Joyce’s work is rooted in his genealogical research of his family, going back to the 1600s. Incorporating imagery, memories, and stories from his ancestry, Joyce incorporates vintage collage materials and soil from the farm he grew up on into his sumptuously textured paintings, weaving together a rich tapestry of his origins. A self-taught artist, Joyce mines his ancestral lineage as well as his personal experience growing up in rural Ohio as a Queer Black man. His work delves into how memories evolve over time and across generations, transforming into intricate capsules of meaning that convey messages of identity, belonging, and place.
Mario Joyce lives and works in Los Angeles. His residencies include Sointula House Residency (2024), Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2023), Pratt Forward at Pratt Institute (2022), and La Brea Studio Residency (2021).
His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Vielmetter Los Angeles (2025); UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles (2024); Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt (2023); and UTA Artist Space, Atlanta (2022). He has been included in numerous group exhibitions at MUZEO Museum and Cultural Center; F2T Gallery; New York Culture Club; and Over the Influence, Los Angeles. His work is held in the public collections of the Columbia Museum of Art and North Dakota Museum of Art.