Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1902 - 1919

This is the back of a postcard, a "Briefkaart," addressed by Annie Maris to Philip Zilcken; a little glimpse into a past communication. It's like a drawing, isn’t it? The handwriting itself – each loop and slant seems almost calligraphic, like the trace of a brush. Look at the stamp, the postmark – little graphic moments frozen in time. The ink is faded, the paper worn, but the gesture of writing, of reaching out, still hums. The address is carefully written and the stamps feel like small acts of creative intention. It reminds me of those delicate works by Agnes Martin; the way she used subtle lines to create these shimmering, almost-not-there grids. I think about her work in relation to this postcard, because, really, isn’t it all about the conversation, the dialogue that art creates across time and space? We can never really know what was exchanged, but the very fact of the exchange remains.