Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1905

This Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken was sent by Karel Sluijterman around the turn of the century. This isn’t a painting, but a vintage postcard, weathered and marked by time, bearing the traces of its journey through the postal system. I'm so curious about what Sluijterman was thinking as he wrote to Philip Zilcken. The ink bleeds slightly, and the handwriting swoops and dives across the page. The stamp and postal marks, faded and smudged, become abstract compositions in themselves. Each cancelation mark and stain is a gesture, mapping the hidden architecture of human connection. Sluijterman was involved in decorative arts. Maybe he was experimenting with the postal system as a canvas, embracing chance and imperfection as a form of expression. Perhaps he saw in the humble postcard a reflection of the ephemerality of life. Much like his painting practice, the postcard opens a space of imagination, inviting us to reflect on the poetics of everyday communication.