Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1905

Carel F.L. de Wild wrote this letter to Philip Zilcken in pen and ink on paper. Look at the way the words are laid out, the script is dense, full of energy and purpose. I can imagine him, pen in hand, deeply involved in the process of articulating his thoughts. You can feel the artist's hand moving across the page. Each stroke is a direct expression of his intention, a way of communicating not just information, but also feeling. I wonder what he was thinking as he wrote this. De Wild is like other artists in that he is engaged in an ongoing conversation through his art. It’s all about exchange, about influencing and being influenced. Painting, like handwriting, is an embodied expression that embraces uncertainty. It allows for multiple readings, changing interpretations, an open-endedness that's more meaningful than any fixed meaning.