Scheherazade 1946

Edward Landon made this screenprint titled 'Scheherazade' sometime around 1946. There's a real sense of process here, a feeling that Landon is working intuitively, letting the image emerge as he goes. I’m drawn to the way Landon uses color and line to create a figure that feels both present and elusive. The blacks feel like they're holding down the composition, pinning the amorphous blocks of color together. The pinks and beiges and the overall muted palette create this sense of depth without fully solidifying into a representational form. Look at the lines that weave and intersect, creating shapes that suggest a figure without fully defining it. It reminds me of some of Gorky's more figurative works, where the body is suggested through abstract forms, leaving space for the viewer to complete the image. Ultimately, it's the ambiguity that makes this piece so compelling, like a half-remembered dream, or a story whispered in the dark.