Elegance 2022

Jason Limon painted "Elegance" sometime in the 20th century, and right away, I'm drawn to its muted, almost somber palette. There is beauty in decay, right? This piece feels like a meditation on that idea, a memento mori with a playful twist. Look at the texture, the way the paint seems to have been built up in layers, especially in the ornate patterns adorning the figure's dress. There's a real physicality to it, a sense of the artist's hand at work. The large letters, almost like a child's alphabet blocks, spell out "NICE," a stark contrast to the skeletal figure. Is it ironic? Sincere? Maybe it's both. That dangling "C" is especially intriguing, like a charm bracelet for the afterlife. It reminds me a bit of some of Red Grooms' playful yet unsettling figures. Limon is tapping into a long tradition of art that embraces ambiguity, reminding us that beauty and decay, humor and melancholy, can coexist. It is a testament to art's ability to hold multiple truths at once.