Ritmo paranoico
Myra Landau
Paranoid Rhythm
After living for some time in Brazil, Myra Landau came to Mexico at a key moment for the solidification of abstract art. Her work from the mid-1960s into the late ’70s is characterized by freehand drawings of concentric rectangles and flat colors applied in pastel onto unprepared linen. She calls these pieces Ritmos [Rhythms], and they reveal the influence of op art and Brazilian geometrism, as well as Landau’s interest in creating work with an expressive essence more than a formalist one.
With “stripes” (as she called them) that break concentrically or intertwine, Landau weaves patterns that evoke textiles, pentagrams, or labyrinths. In this painting, as the title suggests, the artist explores concepts of rhythm, repetition, and contrast to depict a paranoid mental state on the canvas.
Explore with Second Canvas
MYRA LANDAU (1926–2018)
Ritmo paranoico, 1975
Paranoid Rhythm
Pastel on linen
Gift of the artist, 1990
