Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1901 - 1926

This is a postcard, probably from around the turn of the last century. It was sent by Vittorio Pica to Philip Zilcken. Postcards, like paintings, are a mode of transmission. Both are made with intention and purpose. But how does a postcard mean? On the surface, the card is simple, with stamps and handwriting in faint green ink. The stamps aren’t just marks of postage; they’re little portals to another time. I like to imagine Pica, pen in hand, carefully choosing the words he would send across space. He writes to Zilcken, using the space to note 'graveur & peintre', so engraver and painter. Look at the gesture of the handwriting, the loops and flourishes, the way the ink pools in certain spots. It’s a record of movement, a trace of the hand and mind at work. It’s as intimate as a fingerprint, but with the added layer of language and thought. Like a Cy Twombly piece, it’s like the meaning is in the gesture rather than the letter. This piece reminds me that art, in any form, is always part of a larger conversation, echoing and responding to the voices of the past and present.