"P eace on Earth," an exhibition opening Friday at the Phillips Gallery in Carmel, features the work of 27 artists from the Monterey Peninsula and abroad. The work is held together by a common theme--peace on earth--which is, given the international situation, timely.

According to gallery owner Sandy Phillips Dobronte, the exhibition was conceived a year ago, when, observing the "commercial" way people were experiencing the holidays, she decided to put together an exhibition "to bring a sense of importance to the season of the year."

After Sept. 11, the exhibition''s planning assumed a more urgent tone.

Dobronte formed a committee of gallery personnel who sent invitations to more than 40 artists asking them to participate. "We were looking for art that spoke to us, that had uplifting qualities, life-affirming aspects," Dobronte says.

The exhibition brings together many local and international artists and their varied mediums, from the surreal landscapes of Frank Liscko to the evocative collages of MaryBeth Rinehart. A totemic figure by Emy Ledbetter, in her signature style, will be displayed along with Leonard Filgate''s masterful "Rip Squeak," a child''s cartoon character.

The complex etching of G.H. Rothe, black-and-white photography by Robin Rosenzweig, a painting from Karen Nagano''s winged figure series, and Gerrica Connolly''s energetic and colorful pieces will also be shown, along with paintings by Marcia Perry, Anthony Lo Schiavo and Dan Craghead.

The locals will be joined by artists from Hungary, Mozambique, China, Zimbabwe (Gideon Nyanhongo, who did a show at the Phillips last month) Great Britain (Harold Hitchcock, a noted 87-year-old who completed a painting exclusively for the exhibition--a kind of fantasy landscape with figures). Reproductions will be offered for sale at the artists'' reception, Dec. 7, from 5 to 7pm.

"Our world has become so technological and commercial," Dobronte says. "The artists in this community, not just my gallery, produce such beautiful, heartfelt art. The art we''ve chosen captures the feeling of the theme, and we are providing the stage to display their interpretations of love, hope, peace."

Ten percent of the gallery proceeds will go to a non-profit organization Dobronte founded--Providing Art That Heals (PATH)--which donates fine art prints to public facilities "where people are going through an emotional, psychological and physical transition."

Six artists have created works that will be reproduced as posters; these will be offered for sale during the exhibition''s run. Proceeds will go to PATH, which Dobronte founded after she witnessed the healing power of art.

"My daughter fell from a great height and sustained a serious brain injury," she says. "During her recovery at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, I saw how important the art displayed was to the patients and the families and loved ones."

PATH donates art to battered women''s shelters, hospices, children''s hospitals, abuse and recovery facilities, halfway houses for teens, convalescent homes and foster care homes, Dobronte says.

"These facilities have limited budgets and don''t usually place a priority on the art on the walls," she says. "And there are literally thousands of these places that need art on the walls."

Dobronte believes PATH''s donations of art reproductions can give families and patients a sense of hope.

"A positive art experience is good medicine," she says.

The Phillips Gallery is located in Carmel on Sixth Street between Dolores and Lincoln. Open 10am-6pm weekdays; 10am-8pm Friday and Saturday. 626-1126.