TJ Mampalam

Artist Statement

I am a neurosurgeon in private practice in Northern California. I create figurative and abstract paintings that are informed by my knowledge of medical anatomy and neuroanatomy.

Images of my paintings have been published in literary and art journals including Penumbara: Literary and Art Journal (Vol 29, 2019), The Florida Review (Vol 44, 2020), and Door = Jar Literary Magazine (Vol 37, 2025).

One of my paintings Lost Languages is currently exhibited in the “Word Play” national juried exhibition at Arc Gallery in San Francisco.

A gallery comprising images of 20 of my paintings is available for viewing but not for sale on artpal.com.

I submit an oil painting for the “favorites” exhibit. Ventricles is a favorite painting because it combines a neuroanatomic image of the brain in cross section with images of the butterfly lifecycle, a subject of interest since childhood. Also, the painting Ventricles corresponds to a poem that I wrote also titled “Ventricles” and that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2017.