Briefkaart aan Willem Bogtman Possibly 1924

This postcard was made by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst; it's simply inscribed with ink on paper. The surface of the postcard is quite something. There's an amazing stamp in the corner – which must have been so satisfying to apply. It's so like those moments when you're working on a painting and a gesture just feels right, you know? I imagine Holst, pen in hand, carefully forming each letter, perhaps thinking about the recipient, Willem Bogtman. I wonder what they were to each other. There’s a world of art history and personal history embedded in the simplicity of a handwritten address. You get a real sense of history here, of a bygone era. I love how artists are in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring each other. Painting, even in the form of a humble postcard, is a way of embracing ambiguity, of allowing multiple interpretations.