Almighty painter

Chapter 1008 A Successful Art Exhibition

Such things are happening in relatively underdeveloped countries, in poor and unstable cities.

In a country of dazzling gold and splendor, in a city so futuristic and legendary that it's said to be filled with luxury cars, the same thing is happening.

Gu Weijing sat on the sand dune, letting the hazy twilight that rushed in from the horizon completely envelop him. He lay flat, his forehead resting on the dry, warm sand.

He had to think about a problem repeatedly.

Why is the answer "No"?

Why does he insist on being in this vast world?

Why does he have to feel empathy for all this endless, boundless deception, endless, boundless chaos, and death?

Why couldn't he simply hide in the canvas and pursue those small, but readily available pleasures?

How to adjust colors, how to outline lines to get closer to the original form, how to depict perspective... these are all things with standard answers.

He can do a great job.

Even if it's not that good, it should still be fun enough. With the help of the system, perhaps Gu Weijing can do something unprecedented.

Why does he insist on facing such a problem?

All sadness is like a pointless, self-inflicted whine.

Whether the world is good or bad has nothing to do with Gu Weijing; his life is not bad at all.

He could have lived a wonderful life, shining brightly under the spotlight.

At this moment, all the suffering in the world has nothing to do with him. In the future, he will definitely be very, very successful. Well, even if he doesn't succeed, at his level, he will never starve.

Gu Weijing has the freedom to choose.

Even if he didn't, he still had the freedom to escape.

"But, no—"

"You need to become better, Gu Weijing."
-

Mr. Maes III sat at the table, eating cherries from a bowl while his face flushed as he scrolled through various news articles related to the art exhibition on his phone.

"The most eye-catching art exhibition at the Maes Gallery in recent years. A truly spectacular visual performance."

This is the title of an article from a moderately well-known art weekly.

"Just at the beginning of this month, Maes Gallery arranged a solo exhibition for their 20-year-old Asian artist, Gu Weijing, at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Wait! I know what readers who see this are thinking. 20 years old, Louvre. These two words together always have an unusual feel to them. Some readers with better memories may seem to have some impression of the name 'Gu Weijing'."

“That’s right. Around this time two years ago, the same painter broke the record for the oldest winner of the Singapore Biennale’s gold medal at the age of 18. Of course, considering the financial situation of the Maes Gallery in recent years, some people have already regarded this exhibition as a pointless publicity stunt to create a star.”

"Wait!"

“I must use this phrase again, and I would like to ask everyone to wait a moment before closing this article. Because before I saw the works in this exhibition, I had the same opinion as everyone else. But after the visit, I began to believe that I had just witnessed one of the most interesting exhibitions at the Maes Gallery in recent years.”

……

Maes III popped a cherry into his mouth.

I skimmed through this art critic's report, and the phrase "most interesting" reveals that although the report didn't exactly lavish praise on the exhibition and pointed out a few minor flaws, it was still generally positive.

The thought that he had never given money to this newspaper made him realize that he was surprised.

Mr. Maes III was doubly happy.

Maes III had been reading similar reports all morning, constantly keeping an eye on various art news since the media shooting day ended.

One by one.

One serving at a time.

More and more art media outlets that were paying attention to the exhibition released their art reviews, and the content of these reviews was similar to that of the art weekly he had just read.

The praise and criticism were roughly equal, about 30% and 70% respectively. Considering this was his first solo exhibition, and that it was held in a top museum, any slight flaw would be magnified, and many art critics would be extremely critical. So, this was already a great success.

and.

Even the most critical individuals, who offered numerous criticisms of the exhibition itself—to the point that Maes III felt like punching them in the face—generally gave high praise to the technique and brushwork of the exhibited works.

Especially the work called "Night Rhapsody," whose canvas contains a certain outstanding technique, a fact that is almost indisputable.

The art weekly called it "a visually spectacular show."

The long-established Berlin media outlet that Maestro III just read believes that "while the content of the painting is old-fashioned, the brushwork has a sense of 'timelessness'."

What impressed Mas III most was Benjamin, a prestigious art critic who wrote a personal column for Modern Art Criticism for 20 years.

The Maes Gallery once contacted Benjamin, hoping to commission a personal feature on Deckard Anlen, but was coldly and ruthlessly rejected. He said, "Sorry, but I can't write the kind of feature you want."

This time.

The other party replied, "From Van Gogh's starry night, a century and a half later, it has once again illuminated the world."

Ho!
The old man is quite the smooth talker.

Maes III munched on a cherry, his lips as red as a vampire's.

Such praise made this gallery owner, who had spent half his life in the industry, feel a little embarrassed.

Considering that the work that illuminates the sky like Van Gogh's was represented by him, the painter who created this work that resembles Van Gogh's was also represented by him.

Maestro III's face grew even hotter.

It's not just my face that's hot.

My heart is warm too.

Marsh III ate a whole handful of cherries after reading that article.

We love listening and watching; if you can write, then write more.

There are so many related reports that if Mascherano III ate a handful of cherries for every article he read, he would still not be able to finish reading them even after he had eaten his way up to the size of Uncle Sakai.

Before the exhibition opened, Maes III was mentally prepared.

These past two days, he was still quite taken aback by the ripples that Gu Weijing's art exhibition had stirred up in the media.

Who is he?

The owner of the prestigious Maes Gallery is one of the most influential figures in the art world. He and Maes III have witnessed countless major events, including the Venice Art Festival, Documenta in Cassel, and the Barcelona Biennale. Maes Gallery has represented more than one artist throughout its history who has won the Golden Lion.

This scene.

I've never actually seen Maestro III.

The Hermès Gallery hadn't experienced such a flurry of interview invitations, with its inbox and phone practically overflowing with calls from familiar high-net-worth collectors—a sight it hadn't witnessed in nearly half a century. It seemed like a sudden, overwhelming surge in popularity.

Those collectors all harbored the intention of purchasing the works at the art exhibition.

"30 euros for 'Night Rhapsody' if all the works in the exhibition were sold together. At the current exchange rate, that's equivalent to 101 million euros of pounds."

This is the first tentative offer that Maestro III has received so far.

The price is very attractive.

Gu Weijing is, after all, a newcomer to the art industry. For a newcomer to sell his first work for 30 euros is already an unimaginable astronomical price.

This price exceeds that of many of Picasso's smaller works and is comparable to the price of some of Deckard Anron's finest pieces.

The art market is a very complex and murky place.

Some of these are simply financial games of musical chairs, or even scams. A work of art might inexplicably sell for an astronomical price—hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars—within a few months, and then a few months later, the artist and gallery have all disappeared.

The Maestro Gallery is a super gallery with the reputation of three generations backing it, so it generally doesn't play any particularly wild tricks.

At least they wouldn't do something like this for 30 euros.

The collector and the Hermès Gallery have a long-standing relationship, and both parties actually considered 30 euros to be a reasonable price.

Collectors believe that Gu Weijing can sustain such prices for many years to come, and even has considerable potential for investment appreciation. After the Maes Gallery began representing Gu Weijing, its first sale of a work fetched €30, effectively placing Gu Weijing's market anchor at the level of Dyke Anren.

in other words.

As long as this price holds.

Gu Weijing may become the top man at Hermès, and he will have plenty of money to make in the years to come.

As for selling the entire exhibition as a package, the other party's price of "equivalent to £101 million" is quite interesting.

People in the industry know this.

Nearly 20 years ago, Hearst participated in an exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, where his work "Hymn" was purchased by Mr. Saatchi himself as a collector for exactly "£100 million".

It was a groundbreaking deal at the time.

The media has gone mad.

Within just a few months, Hearst’s exhibits and three replicas attracted more than 100,000 visitors.

"If it were £101 million, the deal for 'Night Rhapsody' would definitely go through."

Ma Shi III spat out a cherry pit, typed on his phone, then thought for a moment and added a high-five emoticon at the end of the message—a style that middle-aged and older white men love to use to show off their trendiness.

"joke?"

The other person replied with an emoji of eyes closed and tongue sticking out.

"do not do that."

Monet III replied, “That was the price 20 years ago. In 20 years, how much has the dollar depreciated? The market value has increased at least fivefold. Back then, one million pounds could buy almost anything Monet did, except for a few Water Lilies. Now, that price can only buy those tiny, marginal works. A Water Lilies painting would be hard to find for less than 5000 million dollars.”

"This price isn't too outrageous."

Marcus III transforms into a salesman.

“Think about it. When Sachs bought it for 1 million, everyone thought that price was crazy. Ten years later, Hearst’s market value was close to 100 million at its peak.”

"Can you guarantee that Gu Weijing will be able to sell for 100 million in ten years? Don't even mention 100 million, I'll buy it if it's five times more." That was the other party's sharp reply.

"Don't do that. Promising expected returns is illegal."

He smiled bitterly, as if he were Ma Shi III.

“If I could guarantee he’d sell for 100 million, I wouldn’t sell. I just want to say… this price isn’t outrageous. More than one collector has contacted me, and I assure you, on behalf of the gallery, that this isn’t a price-gouging trick.” He typed.

"The risk is there, you know... 'Oil Painting'."

The other party replied.

“If anyone can offer £100 million for a painting, well, then I’ll back out.”

“€30 is a reasonable price. Even £101 would be—” the other party said, “It depends on how you look at it, but I think that for £101, you can only try to sell it to Anna Elena. Anyway, that’s not me.”

Mr. Satch has always been a major patron of Hearst.

He provided Hearst with substantial financial support, allowing him to create whatever he desired. Then, at an art exhibition held at the Saatchi Gallery, Mr. Saatchi himself purchased Hearst's exhibits for £100 million.

From an outsider's perspective, this record-breaking transaction is not simply a market activity.

Faced with various uncertain risks, if the collector were to buy it himself, the other party would only be willing to offer "30," and £101 million is the package price for this art exhibition.

Of course, this is also a very tempting number.

Maes III scanned the various messages on his computer screen, biting into a cherry and lost in thought.

That's why the news coverage was so large.

About one or two out of ten are art reviews, while the rest are all gossip comments.

Anna Elena, who had disappeared from the media spotlight for nearly two years, has reappeared in the media's view, this time as the private agent of the artist who was stranded on a desert island with her during the robbery two years ago.

Various rumors have been circulating secretly among the visitors for the past twenty months.

Those are all undercurrents beneath the ice.

This time.

In the sweltering heat of Abu Dhabi, the glacier suddenly broke apart, and with the opening of the exhibition, a torrent of gossip-filled water drenched the faces of onlookers around the world. How could the news media not be instantly abuzz with excitement?

"YOU JUMP, I JUMP"

The New York Times even took to the field, writing a special column to gossip about Anna Elena and Gu Weijing's various activities over the past two years.

They encountered a robbery together.

They fell into the sea together.

They were stranded on a desert island together and were rescued together.

They attended classes together at the same university.

Now... they've held an art exhibition together.

This really hit the sweet spot for the general public. "You Jump, I Jump," The New York Times even chose the famous line from the movie Titanic as the bold headline of its news report.

(End of this chapter)