Facade 2017

Curator: This is Jason Limon’s “Facade,” painted in 2017 using acrylic. Its somber mood and peculiar design are immediately striking. Editor: It evokes a haunting kind of beauty. The contrast between the ornate headdress and those spindly, bone-like limbs is...disquieting. Curator: Indeed. Let’s deconstruct it. The composition centers around a central, egg-shaped figure. A helmet-like structure dominates, emblazoned with "FACADE" and a "HIGH LIFE" banner, surrounded by intricate filigree. Note the red conical hat on top. This upper section conceals most of its "face." Editor: You know, the visible section of its face seems intentionally innocent. The enormous, empty eyes stare vacantly. Its the only organic part exposed: its production required precision to bring a raw yet manufactured vulnerability to this being. The skeleton-like legs feel significant to this goal of construction too, I'd assume? Curator: Absolutely. Consider "facade" itself—a deceptive outward appearance. Limon layers artifice onto mortality; an embellished presentation hides the vulnerability. Even the small, delicate floral swirls that embellish the character fail to mask its somber composition. Semiotically, it reads like a commentary on performance. Editor: The materiality is so compelling. Acrylic lends a flat, almost manufactured texture. It allows Limon to build up precise layers of embellishment to simulate surface adornment, like those carefully placed faux gems. They look industrially stamped and glued on with meticulous intention, to amplify that construction in how it was made. Curator: Interesting perspective. Consider the spatial relationships: The figure is grounded but disconnected. The filigree and "HIGH LIFE" suggest upward aspirations, yet the skeletal limbs hold it down. Is this creature imprisoned by its "Facade", do you suppose? Editor: Perhaps the artist attempts to tell that facades are built—constructed deliberately by masking material vulnerability? It's craft and manufacture intersecting! Curator: Intriguing interpretation! A potent commentary on contemporary society and carefully curated illusions, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Certainly, its layers unveil as much as it obscures about how facades in general are formed. A stimulating visual experience!