My mini-exhibit features one white male nude and one black male nude (“O’Hara Nude with Boots” by Larry Rivers and “Brilliantly Endowed (Self Portrait)” by Barkley L. Hendricks) in conversation about questions of physical boundaries, mythology, and artistic gatekeeping. I can’t say I have any figurative artists that I love, but I stumbled across this nude painting by Douglas Simonson and thought it’d be an interesting addition to my project. An artist who blends acrylic paints, pencil sketches, and digital technologies to complete his works, Simonson himself refers to this work, entitled “California Desert,” as an “Impressionist painting of [a] statuesque Black male nude.” Visually, there are similarities between this painting and Rivers’, mainly the broader brushstrokes that blend the colors and their portrayals of men as statues, more specifically, men as symbols of vitality, power, and creative energy. Like Rivers, Simonson is a white man, which I find interesting because, though he is representing a black subject, the representation has similar motifs to other white works. Conversely, Hendricks presents a black subject like Simonson does, but unlike Simonson Hendricks is interested in presenting his subject, in this case himself, as an individual, with readily identifiable personality traits and stylistic choices. Hendricks’ work is more casual while Simonson’s still retains this formality even with the relaxed setting in the backdrop. Thus, I think Simonson’s work is an intriguing addition to my exhibit, as we see an artistic and cultural crossover that brings some of the ideas I’m fascinated by into starker relief.