Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1925

Bart Johannes Blommers wrote this letter to Philip Zilcken in England; the date on the letter is October 13-25. The handwriting has a kind of fluidity, a personal rhythm. It reminds me that making art, like writing, is a process of improvisation, a dance between intention and chance. You can almost feel Blommers' hand moving across the page. The ink is applied with varied pressure, the lines sometimes thick and bold, sometimes thin and delicate, full of the wobbles and quirks of the body. This kind of physical presence is so important in art, right? It’s what makes a piece feel alive, like it’s breathing. I’m especially drawn to the open loops and soft curves, which give the writing a sense of lightness. This letter reminds me of Cy Twombly’s scrawled paintings, which are all about gesture, movement, and the pleasure of mark-making. Art is always a conversation, a back-and-forth between artists across time, each one building on the ideas of those who came before. Ultimately, art is about embracing ambiguity, uncertainty, and the multiple possibilities of interpretation.