- Michael Pearce (artist)
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Michael Pearce. Fama, 2008, oil on canvas, 48" x 84".
Michael Pearce (born 1965) is a British, California-based figurative painter, installation designer and sculptor.
Contents
Life and work
Michael Pearce was born in Lincolnshire, Britain in 1965. He is a figurative painter and installation artist.
Pearce grew up in London and then Wiltshire, where his father introduced him to impressive megalithic structures like Stonehenge and Avebury, two of the largest and most important Neolithic stone circles in Europe, having a profound effect on the imaginative young man, whose adult work repeatedly refers to ancient history, mythology and folklore. While his body of work connects him to his lifelong delight in stone circles and long barrows it also refers to his study of natural philosophy,[1] an area he explored when studying early archaeological texts by William Stukeley and John Aubrey, whose eclectic writings led him to explore alchemical symbolism, steering the direction of his work toward mystical allegory. The works are marked by the use of symbolism, male and female imagery and celestial references to address the mystical relationship between man and God.
Pearce paints in oils on canvas, sometimes stretched over a wooden panel, creating allegorical or narrative figurative compositions of mystical or alchemical subjects, while his installation work was typically made from simple materials like wood, unfired clay, and beeswax. Uninterested in post-modern trends, his ecology-influenced installations were characterized by his effort to re-enter a mystical and ancient state of mind in which man is closer to the purely natural world, which he saw paralleled by alchemy. Speaking about his 2008 The Principle installation Pearce said "Alchemical imagery is so rich and mysterious that it can't fail to be exciting to an artist." [2] In 2009 he combined actual alchemical experimentation with his artwork for the first time, showing his Cabinet of Alchemical Wonders in an exhibit in Glendale, California,[3] including a reflux still within the centre of a large glowing tree. His interest in alchemical symbolism persists in his most recent work.
Pearce developed a curious relationship with the aviator Amelia Earhart who appeared as the subject of several alchemical paintings. He believes that Earhart perfectly represents the element of air "as a modern Icarus"[4] and he has painted her as an angelic character and alchemical queen. In these roles Earhart acts to transform other characters in Pearce's romantic allegorical narratives.[5]
After a painful separation from his wife in October 2008 and becoming increasingly reclusive, Pearce became solely interested in oil painting, and created a series of new allegorical figurative works, the first of the group of new canvases being exhibited in August 2011 at California Lutheran University in a ground-breaking exhibit titled "The New Romantic Figure", with prominent Californian artists including Alexey Steele, Jeremy Lipking, Tony Pro, Mia Tavonatti, Cyn McCurry, Peter Adams (President of the California Art Club) and Michael Lynn Adams. Pearce's paintings The Star and The Queen of Cups (Lady in Red) were presented in dramatic tabernacle frames that referenced those found on Pre-Raphaelite works, whose wet-white painting methods he researched and used in the production of these canvases. Although he uses Victorian and Renaissance studio techniques he is determinedly contemporary, saying: "We can't be painting for the 19th century - we have to paint for the 21st century..."[6]
He is the Art Department chair at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, where he teaches figurative painting. In 2010 he introduced the atelier system to the CLU Art Department, in which each faculty member is provided with their own studio space on campus, welcoming their students to study alongside them as they lead by example in the production of their own work, and marking the re-introduction of traditional studio training to the academic setting.[7]
He is curator of CLU's Kwan Fong Gallery where his programming emphasizes the work of emerging and mid-career artists and social justice exhibits. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
He is a graduate of Dartington College of Arts, 1990, Ba (Hons) Theatre; The University of Southern California, 1992 MFA Theatrical Design; and Plymouth University, 2008, PhD Using Prehistoric British Art and Architecture as a Model for Contemporary Art. Since 1990 Pearce has lived in California, where he is now a Ventura County resident, having left Los Angeles to move to Thousand Oaks in 2008.
Theatrical Design
Pearce has worked in Southern Californian theatre as a scenic and lighting designer, winning a 1992 Drama-Logue Award for his lighting of Brian Friel's Translations at the Celtic Arts Center, Los Angeles,[citation needed] and an Independent Theatre Award for his set and lighting designs for a Santa Barbara, CA production of Frankenstein in 2004. He is a member of Santa Barbara’s experimental Lit Moon Theatre Company.[8]
In 1992 he designed the set for comedian and raconteur Steve Allen’s production of his play “The Wake” at the Celtic Arts Center in Hollywood, Los Angeles; Los Angeles Times reviewer Tim McCulloh said "Pearce's set and lighting are exemplary, giving the feeling one could walk into the Scanlon apartment and live there".[9]
While working on the set for the Wake he also was busy with the set design for Be Bop a Lula, a rock and roll play about Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran, produced by Adam Ant and John Densmore of the Doors.
Trivia
Pearce has painted portraits for musicians including members of the band Plexi, Skinny Puppy singer Nivek Ogre and the No Limit Records rappers C-Murder, Silk the Shocker and Master P.
His portrait of C-Murder was used for the cover of the rapper's platinum selling The Truest S*** I Ever Said.[10]
His portraits of rapper Master P can be seen in an MTV Cribs episode featuring the No Limit Records owner's home in Baton Rouge.[11]
Notes and references
- ^ Philosophical ideas of ancient scientists inspired artist's new CLU show Time Out, Ventura County Star, Thursday October 9th 2008
- ^ Philosophical ideas of ancient scientists inspired artist's new CLU show Time Out, Ventura County Star, Thursday October 9th 2008
- ^ Glendale News Press "Mimicking Nature" May 15th 2009
- ^ Alchemy Journal Volume 10 No. 1. Northern Spring 2009. ISBN 1836-1587
- ^ Alchemy Journal Volume 10 No. 1. Northern Spring 2009. ISBN 1836-1587
- ^ Ventura County Star, August 28th 2011, Art Show Features Resurgence of Figurative Art
- ^ Ventura County Star, August 28th 2011, Art Show Features Resurgence of Figurative Art
- ^ Lit Moon Theatre Company Website. Cited August 5th 2008.
- ^ L.A.Times. May 1st 1992 Stage Review: Steve Allen’s “The Wake”: A touching Remembrance by Tim McCulloh.
- ^ C-Murder, The Truest Sxxx I Ever Said, Released by Koch Records March 22nd 2005.
- ^ MTV Cribs, Snoop Dogg, Silkk the Shocker, Master P. Episode Number: 5. Season Number: 1. First Aired: Wednesday October 18, 2000.
External links
Categories:- 1965 births
- Living people
- English painters
- Contemporary painters
- Alumni of the University of Plymouth
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