Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1923

Here's a letter, "Brief aan Philip Zilcken," penned in 1923 by Vittorio Pica in Venice. What strikes me is the delicate dance between intention and chance. I can imagine Pica's hand moving across the page, each word laid down with care, yet each also a kind of spontaneous gesture. The pale green ink feels so deliberate, like he's feeling his way through the thoughts, letting them emerge from some deep, interior space. I think of him, alone, trying to articulate something that maybe he only half-understands himself. It's about pastels or little paintings, but it reads as so much more than a logistical message. In a way, it reminds me of my own painting process: building up layers, scraping away, and constantly revising. There’s a conversation happening, not just between Pica and Zilcken, but between Pica and himself, and, of course, between us and the letter now. Painting and writing, really, are just extended forms of thinking, of trying to make sense of the world, one mark, one word at a time.