Formulier 1948

This piece of paper, created in July '48, has purple ink writing all over it that looks like it came from a fountain pen. You can tell by the way the ink pools at the beginning of each stroke. Looking at the paper, I’m getting the sense of someone in a hurry, someone with a lot on their mind. I can imagine the artist sitting at a desk, quickly scribbling down thoughts and ideas as they come. You can see the way the artist’s hand moved across the surface, leaving these dark, lyrical marks. The looping signature of W. van 't Rood-Gerth van Wijk is so energetic, it’s almost like a dance. It reminds me of Cy Twombly's scribbled paintings, but with a touch of administrative urgency. Both artists are using gesture to communicate feeling, intention, and meaning, but in very different contexts. It shows how artists are in an ongoing conversation, even across different fields, and eras. It reminds us that painting, writing, and art, is an embodied expression.