At the heart of L’Énigme des Étoiles is a sea star, enspirited and ascending, its radiant form rising above the fractured and eclipsed capital of a Roman column. The figure emerges as both celestial and aquatic—bridging sky and sea, mystery and empire. Around it, a shimmering inscription unfurls without beginning or end: “the star’s glittering brightly while you dream of the saltwater and so it heals all wounds like a twisting mystery under the stars glittering brightly while you dream of the saltwater…” The mantra invokes saltwater as a primal element of renewal, a solvent for human wounds, and a space where myth and memory dissolve into mystery.

The integration of oil, acrylic, and glittering mixed media creates a temporal layering that mirrors history itself. Pigments specific to the Age of Science intermingle with contemporary materials, evoking the way Romanized systems and Enlightenment traditions were laid across the unknowable rhythms of the natural world. This layering speaks to how Grand Tour ideals shaped Philadelphia’s health sciences culture—bringing with them both genuine discovery and the shadow of snake oil, the specter of the witch doctor.

In this work, the sea star becomes an emblem of survival and regeneration, embodying nature’s ability to heal and outlast those who would conquer.

Olympia
Oil on panel with fluorescent “rosaille” underpainting and custom glitter surface

A trio of seashells, anchored by a commanding starfish, rests atop a stylized Corinthian capital, glowing softly beneath jewel-toned shadows. In Olympia, Jo Gamel reimagines the classical still life as a feminine altar, where marine relics and baroque forms shimmer with quiet sanctity. The painting’s radiant rosaille underpainting and subtle glitter infusion evoke care as a sovereign act, honoring beauty, vulnerability, and self-ceremony.

Stella
Oil on oval panel with fluorescent “rosaille” underpainting

A crystalline still life floats in darkness: sand dollars, glinting glass, seashells, and a vial of healing elixir rest atop a Corinthian pedestal, their surfaces lit from within by a luminous “rosaille” underpainting. In Stella, Jo Gamel transforms classical still life into an altar of care—where marine talismans and sacred objects become instruments of feminine restoration.

Egyptian Bohemia in Christendom
Oil on circular panel with fluorescent “rosaille” underpainting

A starfish draped in jet beads reclines beside an orb of light on a gilded book, poised atop a florid Corinthian capital. In Egyptian Bohemia in Christendom, Jo Gamel weaves myth, mysticism, and marine relics into a devotional object—a radiant reflection on feminine self-possession, glamour, and ancestral ritual. The luminous “rosaille” underpainting and lacquered palette evoke a soft opulence, suggesting that care is both sacred inheritance and sovereign act.

Oil on nautical star-shaped panel with fluorescent “rosaille” underpainting

A conch shell—rendered in vivid, molten hues—floats at the center of a star-shaped cosmos, both relic and signal. The fluorescent rosaille underpainting radiates through its sculptural ridges, creating a subtle inner glow against a velvet sky of hand-stenciled stars. This celestial composition extends Jo Gamel’s language of marine symbolism and sacred care, evoking the shell as a vessel for voice, breath, and protection.

Part devotional object, part cosmic tool, the piece continues Gamel’s exploration of women’s wellness, transformation, and hope—casting the sea not as escape, but as a mirror of resilience.

Mixed media on hand-built star panel with fluorescent “rosaille” underpainting

Suspended in a cosmic halo, a horned starfish glows with biomorphic intensity with its fluorescent hues pulsing over a field of deep-space pigment and stenciled constellations. The shaped canvas becomes both relic and vessel, merging celestial architecture with marine intimacy. Through its radiant surface and luminous underpainting, the work meditates on healing, adaptation, and the unseen systems that uphold La Mer’s vitality.