Leigh Joseph McCloskey (born June 21, 1955) is an American artist, author, actor and self-described "visual philosopher." He is known for the immersive, hand-painted library installation The Hieroglyph of the Human Soul (sometimes abbreviated THOTHS), created in his Malibu home as an ongoing visualâÂÂphilosophical environment beginning in 2001. His pen-drawn tarot cycle was published as Tarot ReVisioned (2003), and imagery from his illuminated books Codex Tor was used on the cover and packaging of Flying LotusâÂÂs 2010 album Cosmogramma. McCloskey delivered the 2024 commencement address at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California.
McCloskeyâÂÂs Hieroglyph of the Human Soul transforms his library into an all-over, 3D painted environment that he also uses for salons and teaching. Coverage in PBS SoCalâÂÂs Artbound details the workâÂÂs origins, alchemical motifs, and its domestic, immersive setting. A 2024 profile in The Malibu Times documented a city gallery exhibition of his paintings and described his oeuvre as âÂÂphenomenally intriguing,â situating it within MalibuâÂÂs arts community.
McCloskey has presented visual-philosophy talks and seminars in the U.S. and abroad. He spoke for the New York Open CenterâÂÂs Esoteric Quest in 2006 (Central Europe program), where his session connected hermetic philosophy, tarot and image-based inquiry.
In 2012 he gave a TEDxMalibu talk, âÂÂThe Painting Phoenix Arise & the Blossoming of Creation'âÂÂ,â using his oil painting Phoenix Arise as a demonstration of process, pattern and self-revelation through art.