Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1929

Lya Berger made this letter to Philip Zilcken with ink on paper, though no date has been recorded, the postmark suggests July 1932. The spidery handwriting in blue-black ink is so personal, so full of quirks and energy, it reminds you that art-making can be about communication, but it's also just about process, the pleasure of moving a pen across the page. Berger's address is printed in a grey elegant typeface and contrasts with the handwritten address. The ink almost bleeds into the fibers of the paper, like memories seeping into the present. Notice, at the top, how the stamp with its pale salmon hue seems to float, unmoored from the words. The postal mark sits slightly off-kilter, a smudge of purple against the pristine white. It’s the kind of detail you might overlook, but it’s also what makes the piece so intimate, so human. Like the work of Cy Twombly, this letter refuses to be pinned down. Is it a simple note, a work of art, or something in between? Perhaps it is a message in a bottle cast out to sea, hoping to be found and read again.