Secret Paintings

Michael J. Pearce

The Secret Paintings

British painter brings angels and magicians to Birmingham
Stephen Smith Fine Art, 5104 Gary Avenue • Fairfield, AL 35064
(205) 305-1451
stephen@birminghamfreepress.com
Opens Nov. 3, 2017 5:00-8:00

I Want The World And I Want It Now (oil on canvas) 49 ½" x 66 ½"

Artist Michael Pearce's "The Secret Paintings" will be on view at Stephen Smith Fine Art in Fairfield from November 3rd until January 6th. The gallery is located at 5104 Gary Avenue.

Enormous paintings by Michael Pearce tour the United States, from California to Birmingham. Michael Pearce says, "I'm so excited about these paintings coming to Birmingham. I can't wait to visit the state where the civil rights movement started and to see the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains."

"In a strange way, I feel like the paintings are coming home."

Gallery owner Stephen Smith says, "Pearce's paintings highlight the resurgence of representational art that has been transforming the art world for the past 2 decades."

Gallery director Holly Moye of Oklahoma City University says the Secret Paintings are "…a new kind of art moving forward from the weary pessimism that has dominated international art for the past century."

Pearce grew up in the countryside of Wiltshire, England and has a deep interest in the old traditions and ancient sites of Britain, like Stonehenge. He frequently uses ancient Celtic monuments and settings in his art, including Sillbury Hill and the Ridgeway.

Stephen Smith Fine Art will witness the breathtaking scenes of Michael Pearce's The Secret Paintings, a series of twenty-six large canvases, recalling Renaissance and Pre-Raphaelite masters in their ambitiousness, complexity, and scale, and in their theatrical grandeur. In Pearce's latest spectacular four-panel painting, Chariot, which spans thirty-two feet, a circle of beautiful girls parade in a jubilant celebration of the sun. The ambitious show also includes spectacular paintings of the baptism of Christ, brilliant angels appearing at a scene of transfiguration, and a Masonic traveler at the beginning of his initiatory journey.

Pearce uses the ancient imagery and traditions of his British ancestors, introducing them into magical settings starring beautiful women and handsome men. The paintings pay homage to diverse cultural landmarks including the Bible, the Da Vinci Code and medieval symbolism.

Pearce's paintings are optimistic, beautiful and democratic and designed to appeal to an American audience.

He is a popular and influential leader of the international representational art community. Pearce co-founded TRAC (The Representational Art Conference), bringing artistic heavy-hitters such as Odd Nerdrum and Roger Scruton to California to meet their American peers.

Pearce has been featured in Juxtapoz, Fine Art Connoisseur, art ltd., Beautiful Bizarre, and KCET Artbound. Fine Art Connoisseur describes his work as "magnificent" and "outstanding." Juxtapoz calls it "beautiful," while Beautiful Bizarre describes the, "magical worlds revealed within his impeccable, mysterious paintings." KCET says the paintings are "…massive, mythical, and brimming with allegorical subtext…" The Oklahoman says the show is "forceful," "ambitious," and "highly recommended," "…an almost alchemical mixture of hidden meanings, modern yet archaic symbolism, and meticulous, in some cases masterful technique, the exhibit offers us both visual stimulation and food for thought."

For more information and pictures, e-mail Harold Muliadi atharoldmuliadi@gildedraven.com
or call (805) 660-1386.

Angel of Death