Hang On 2019

Jason Limon, sometime in the 20th century, made this painting, “Hang On,” and I can just imagine him in his studio, wrestling with this image. It is a pretty complex composition. The muted palette, browns and reds, feel like a faded memory. The paint looks thin, like watercolor almost, but I bet it's acrylic. See how the skeleton dangles upside down? Is it hanging on for dear life? I’m feeling that tension between the decorative details and the dark subject matter. Limon’s got this conversation going between life and death, beauty and decay. Artists are magpies, you know? We pick up shiny bits and pieces from everywhere—art history, personal experience, pop culture. It all gets mixed up in the studio, and something new emerges. You can feel the artist’s hand and mind at work here, trying to get it right, shifting things around until it clicks.