Whole 2021

Jason Limon made "Whole", and what a trip it is! Right away, I'm drawn to the triptych layout – it feels like flipping through the pages of some kind of bizarre fairytale, where everything's a little off-kilter in the best possible way. The hands on either side are so ornate, almost like anatomical valentines, full of all these tiny filigree details that look like they were made with the tiniest brush you ever saw. Then there's that skull in the middle, complete with a clock in its brain! It's rendered in chalky layers of grey, brown and white. I love how the artist uses texture and color to create a sense of depth and dimension. It's kind of like you could reach out and touch these objects, even though they exist only in the artist's imagination. And you know, it reminds me of a modern take on the old vanitas paintings, where everything is symbolic and ripe for interpretation. Like Joseph Cornell, Limon is constructing small worlds. Maybe the whole point of art is to keep the conversation going, even when we don't have all the answers?