The Clouty Tree. The Devil and Me

In countries with Celtic roots, clouty trees are ones that grow beside wells or springs and are decorated with rags and trinkets that act as prayers and charms. For his installation, "The Clouty Tree. The Devil and Me," Michael Pearce, an associate professor of art at Cal Lutheran, constructed 20-foot-high clouty tree structures from sticks and ragged cloth. The clouty trees hold three of his large paintings up high, making them into offerings in the sky. Visitors will be invited to tie their own rags to the trees, leaving their cares and prayers behind them.

The paintings in the clouty trees and others displayed in the exhibition are all part of a collection Pearce has produced in the last six years called “The Secret Paintings.” They are based on medieval images that were originally used for moral instruction in an illiterate age.

Originally from England, Pearce wrote his Plymouth University doctoral dissertation on using Neolithic British ritual art and architecture as a model for contemporary art. His research interests include alchemy, Renaissance symbolism and mysticism.

In his 2015 book, Art in the Age of Emergence, Pearce drew on philosophy, spirituality and neuroscience to examine why people have created art from the earliest days of history to today.

An opening reception will be held on March 5 at 7 p.m.

Admission is free. The Kwan Fong Gallery, located in the Soiland Humanties Center, is open to the public 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.