Flip 2022

Jason Limon made this painting, Flip, at some point in the 20th century, it's made from very controlled marks with a muted but unified palette, and the process is about creating something unexpected out of something familiar. I love the way Limon plays with representation and abstraction here. This painting is not quite either, but some intriguing third thing. The textures are palpable; the color feels like something remembered. Look at the cube eyes. They are beige-y white, like worn dice, but with this little flash of green in the corner that suggests they are looking at something beyond the frame, and we aren’t quite in on the joke. It’s like the paint is still alive and breathing on the surface. That little skeleton figure in the corner really elevates the piece for me. The skeleton's almost shy expression in contrast to the almost aggressive eyes really speaks to a sense of quiet melancholy. I am reminded of René Magritte, particularly in the ways that Limon teases our expectations about what a painting can be. There’s an ongoing conversation, a feeling that everything is open to reinterpretation.