Couponnenboek ten name van Philip Zilcken 1924

This coupon book was made in 1924 to grant special train travel for exhibitors in Venice. Look at the condition of this thing! Its aged quality gives it a tactile feel, as if it's been handled and carried and stuffed in pockets. The stains look like blots of watercolor bleeds. It’s got a limited colour palette, just shades of paper and fading ink, but that’s perfect. Notice how the border and seal are created using repeated shapes; it is this repetition that holds my attention here. These shapes create a rhythm, a pattern that our eyes can follow, drawing us into the details. A bit like Agnes Martin, in terms of pattern, but without any of the preciousness. It reminds us that art isn’t just about pristine, untouched objects. Art can be found in the everyday, in the worn and weathered, in the stories that objects carry with them through time.