Art as Authority

by Doug Simay


Current Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions


The Reflected Gaze - Self-Portraiture Today at the Torrance Art Museum (Torrance through February 20).
I am frequently a fan of the curatorial efforts at the TAM. I also love portraiture. But this exhibition lacks a cohesive “eye” that would better integrate the artists represented. Figurative/portrait art was hugely seen about town this week and many of the artists in this show are in other exhibitions as you will read below.



Tom LaDuke and Chuck Close

Allison Schulnik at Mark Moore (Bergamot through February 6). There has been lots of media bubbling about this sold-out show. The work is interesting. There are great gobs of paint. She slathers it on more vigorously than Frank Auerbach and with the same “innocence” of Karel Appel. Me thinks the hype machine is not truly dead.



Allison Schulnik

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by Doug Simay
intro Kevin Freitas


Art as Authority is proud to add to its growing roster of artists, writers, and art activists who not only support San Diego’s art community, but concretely contribute to its development and growth. I’m honored to welcome Doug Simay aboard in a joint effort to expand his readership and ours to yet another level of arts coverage and content. Doug Simay has been extensively covering the Los Angeles gallery and museum scene in his column “Simay’s Best Picks” for over two-and-half years. His column provides a comprehensive guide to the art being shown there, as well as, offering the reader rare personal insights into an artwork’s context, history and contemporaneity with great intelligence and wisdom rarely seen. Doug has maintained a presence here in San Diego for more than thirty years, recently as the director of Simayspace. His passion for collecting San Diego based artists has left him with an undisputable expertise and experience we can all surely benefit from. Please help me welcome Doug to the blog by enjoying the first segment of “Simay’s Best Picks”. Ars Longa Vita Brevis

At the end of Doug’s picks, I’ve included a brief explanation on how to go about subscribing to the Art as Authority blog via the RSS feed. Please take a moment to read over the instructions and subscribe, this way, you’ll never miss another “Simay’s Best Picks” or any of the blog’s future postings. Thank you.

Doug Simay's Best Picks

Alex Grey at Orange Coast Community College (Costa Mesa through December 18). The visionary art of Alex Grey is just part of a complex, spiritually driven world that Alex and his wife are evolving in New York (the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors). Grey’s paintings are heavily based on his experiences in Harvard’s anatomy labs and with LSD. In 1999 he had a mid-career show at the MCA La Jolla.

Alex Grey

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