Reflection 2019

Jason Limon painted "Reflection" with oils on panel, achieving a tactile and visually engaging surface. The artist’s technique, reminiscent of classical painting, ironically portrays a subject matter associated with mortality: skeletons constructing a house of cards. The choice of oil paint allows for a richness of color and depth, evident in the aged and cracked texture of the cards, and the rendering of light on bone. Limon skillfully balances the fine details of the skeletons with the more graphic, almost commercial design of the playing cards. The house of cards, precariously built, symbolizes the fragility of human endeavors. The labor-intensive process of painting emphasizes the contrast with the fleeting nature of life and the ultimate futility of material constructions. The artist elevates this reflection on mortality by engaging in a time-honored medium, suggesting that artistic creation, unlike life, can endure. This tension invites us to reconsider traditional hierarchies between high art and other, more ephemeral forms of creative expression.