Almighty painter

Chapter 767: Exhibition
The Biennale has special booths for invited painters.

Naturally, there are also special exhibition halls for specially invited exhibitors.

Usually, this kind of "exhibition within an exhibition" is the product of consultation between the organizing committee and some large international art institutions and well-known art galleries.

The exhibits are so important that they require a separate exhibition hall to house them.

A common way of playing in the art circle——

The organizer wanted to hold an oil painting art event, but was worried that the art event itself was not well-known enough and would not attract enough visitors, resulting in a loss in the exhibition.

We need to find a way to invite "big guests" to the platform.

The film industry invites well-known stars to make a cameo appearance or two on the screen, which can help boost box office sales and increase the popularity of the film.

The same principle applies when inviting well-known works to the Biennale.

The organizing committee will try to mobilize their personal connections to find big collectors or famous European art museums to "invite" a masterpiece.

Currently the more popular options are Monet or Picasso.

There are no smaller activities in Da Vinci.

Van Gogh can be found but is too expensive.

Not counting the loan fees, once the owner agrees to lend the work, the insurance coverage required by the industry for the exhibition of Van Gogh's works is usually over 100 million U.S. dollars, and the premium alone is a huge expense.

Monet and Picasso are famous enough, their output of works is high enough, and many of their paintings are not that expensive.

Borrow one or two paintings and set them up as a special exhibition stand, which will create a good topic and awareness, and you can also make some money by selling cultural and creative peripherals.

If there are enough loaned works or they are of sufficient importance, they can support an entire exhibition hall on their own.

For example, when Gu Weijing followed the gaze of the couple who were whispering in front of him, what came into his sight was the cloth surface in the center of the exhibition hall that was illuminated by light from bottom to top - tranquil green waves, rockery beside the green waves, a white sloping-roof house next to the rockery, and weeping willows swaying in the wind under the eaves.

The paintings are beautiful.

It's not just beautiful.

It should be said that Gu Weijing's first reaction was that the painting was very beautiful.

Beauty is a dazzling direct visual experience.

It comes from the exquisite and delicate carving, from the gorgeous and precious texture of the object, and from the creator's meticulous engraving of the lines.

It comes from a powerful aura, such as the marble fountains designed by Bernini, which sparkle in the sun, as if rising from the bottom up.

Beauty is a spiritual experience triggered by the senses. It lies in the harmonious combination of light and color, in the rounded unity of temperament, and in the coordination and organization of some higher-level artistic effects.

It lies in a certain temperament and spirituality.

A Song Dynasty Buddha statue that is dusty, mottled but full of antiquity can also be beautiful.

A jade bracelet inlaid with dragons and phoenixes, covered with glittering gold and silver, weighing two kilograms, can also be ugly.

Gu Weijing looked at the painting, and like the foreign couple in front of him, he stopped gently.

He knew how the small Yudu appeared in front of the special exhibition hall.

Standing in front of such a picture, everyone can always feel very intuitively the subtle and direct difference between prettiness and beauty.

They will realize what the real "beauty" is in the painter's pen.

Gu Weijing realized that

Things that are pretty but not beautiful are nice to look at and pleasing to the eye, but not necessarily cute.

Pretty but beautiful things, good looking, pleasing to the eye, but definitely cute…

Uh.

Gu Weijing thought of Miss Elena.

Ok.

He had to be honest and take back his comment.

Facts have proved that even if some people are pretty, they can still appear not cute at all in actual contact.

but.

In most cases, pretty and beautiful things have a natural affinity.

It has an inherent magic. It may not be dazzling or gorgeous, but it will definitely appear friendly and lovely.

For example, this oil painting in front of you has a strong Chinese painting style.

This was the first time that Gu Weijing stepped into this exhibition hall.

The moment he saw the iconic and elegant brushstrokes with profound meaning, he almost immediately realized the identity of the creator of this work.

He moved his feet.

Looking at the work details card made of laser-engraved gray metal plate fixed to the side of the booth.

as predicted.

The work on the booth is "Water Village People", an oil painting on canvas in the style of Dongxi and Hebi, which was borrowed by the organizing committee from the National Art Museum.

It is the work of Wu Guanzhong.

This Chinese art master, who believed that the modernization of Chinese painting and the nationalization of oil painting are two sides of the same coin and are actually two manifestations of the same substance, is known as a cross-disciplinary figure between Chinese and Western painting techniques. More than ten years ago, he once stood at the top of the Asian and even world painting scene.

Wu Guanzhong can be regarded as one of the most successful art masters in recent years who has combined the strengths of many schools and mastered the techniques of oil painting and traditional Chinese painting.

Conservative estimate.

The oil painting in the center of the exhibition hall in front of Gu Weijing should be sold at a price of more than 1000 million US dollars.

Maybe if it's done right it could go up to the $3000 million range.

Even higher.

In his later years, Wu Guanzhong donated a large number of his works free of charge to Dongxia and art galleries across Asia, including the National Gallery Singapore.

The National Gallery Singapore is one of the most famous and largest national art galleries in Southeast Asia. It has a separate exhibition hall named after Wu Guanzhong.

For this Lion City Biennale, it was only natural for the organizing committee to invite Wu Guanzhong's works from the National Gallery of Art to be placed as the treasure of the exhibition in the center of the special exhibition hall.

When Gu Weijing was young, he viewed Wu Guanzhong's electronic album on the Internet and was deeply impressed.

At this moment, we are only two meters apart, and looking at this work face to face, I have another deeper feeling.

He had wanted to describe the impact of the scene as causing him to pause.

After looking at it for a while, Gu Weijing realized that -

Not the impact, but the rhythm.

What this painting brought him was not the kind of direct and strong mental stimulation that would make people open their mouths and scream "Wow" or "OMG".

The feeling it brings is not a loud shout of "Ah" but a soft sigh of "Oh".

What is in front of me is an oil painting, but it is an extremely elegant oil painting.

It expresses strong emotions, which is different from many traditional Western oil paintings that use very colorful and fancy oil paints, and the classic ways of conveying the vitality of the picture through the shaking, running, roaring, twisting, shouting or spinning of characters and scenery, and the blood of gladiators or the shiny sweat on the horse's mane.

It is a traditional oil painting on canvas, but the creator used a very traditional oriental aesthetic conception.

Just a few strokes.

A typical house with a small bridge and flowing water.

Audiences find it plain and simple at first, but upon careful tasting, the aftertaste lingers in their hearts like a thread, lingering endlessly.

How did that little bit of ink line create the perfect green of the water? In the green waves, there is a slight bitterness, the water is neither meaty nor clear.

Gu Weijing has rarely seen anyone who can use traditional oil painting on canvas to express the hazy feeling of Jiangnan ink painting so accurately and mysteriously.

He could only sigh.

A maestro is a maestro.

It is worthy of being the intermediary between Eastern and Western art.

The couple in front, whose facial features might be from the Apennine Peninsula, were Europeans. They also felt the mood conveyed by the work without any obstacles at first sight.

Even the galloping horses on their red T-shirts seemed much calmer in front of the light and moist painting.

"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. If the color is too clean, there will be no artistry and no room for imagination. I can't remember clearly, but this should be what Mr. Wu Guanzhong once said. Fish... is the artistic spirit of water waves."

Someone spoke in English from behind Gu Weijing.

The young man walked up to Gu Weijing.

"Oriental art cannot be too muddy or too complex. Filling the picture with all kinds of elements will also leave no room for imagination. The structure of Dongxia calligraphy emphasizes the uniformity of the white space between the characters, that is, the brushstrokes and the space around them are well distributed, with a sense of breathing." "Calligraphy and painting are integrated. This philosophy also applies to paintings."

The other party's voice was not loud, but not low either.

His voice echoed throughout this small special exhibition room.

Not only Gu Weijing beside him, but every visitor in the exhibition hall could hear his voice.

There is nothing wrong in seeing beautiful works of art in an art gallery, looking at paintings that touch your soul, having a low conversation with your friends, and expressing one or two spontaneous sighs.

This extremely light and continuous background sound, like white noise, is what Mr. Sloth described as the "rustling quiet noise". Like the sound of pages turning in the library, it is part of the venue's temperament.

But people who speak with a normal voice are very eye-catching.

The reason why it was eye-catching, rather than "annoying" enough to require the security guard to drag the man out, was probably because when the young man spoke, his aura was too calm and composed, he was too authoritative, and what he said made so much sense.

The tourists around him thought he was the official guide or professional scholar of the Esplanade, and they all tilted their ears and listened attentively to his words.

"A little bit of clarity, a little bit of ripples, just the right amount of green, just the right amount of art. The painting is very concise, the water flows gently throughout the whole painting, and there is not a single stroke of fish, but it makes people imagine that there are water plants swaying against the willow branches under the water, and that there are fish swimming nimbly among the water plants."

“Draw half and keep half.”

“There is plenty of room for imagination both inside and outside the painting. This is the pinnacle of art! It is the achievement gained after a lifetime of walking on the artistic path that integrates the strengths of many schools.”

The man sighed at the work in front of him.

"This piece of work alone is probably much more expensive than all the other works in the entire exhibition hall combined."

The value of art is not determined by the transaction price. If we really talk about the price, Gu Weijing knows that the man is right.

Just this one oil painting with a traditional Chinese style on the booth can easily beat the total auction price of all the works of the participating painters in the Masters Exhibition.

The gold medal works of previous Biennales usually sold for only tens of thousands of dollars in the same year.

What is on the booth in front of us is hundreds and thousands of times this number.

Like Cao Xuan, Wu Guanzhong is a genuine super master whose single works were sold for hundreds of millions of yuan or even several million yuan, and they both achieved this during their lifetime.

More than ten years ago, Wu Guanzhong's net worth was slightly higher than that of Mr. Cao.

Not counting inflation.

Even more exaggerated than Picasso.

Even accounting for inflation, it is more expensive than most Picasso works.

Even in the years when the art market was the hottest, with the most hot money and the most bubbles, if a single work of art could be sold for more than 1000 million US dollars, it would definitely be the price of an undisputed top international master.

If you count with your fingers, you won’t be able to count how many there are in the world.

The amount on the check that Miss Elena signed for Gu Weijing was several times the normal market price for purchasing "the first single work by a female Impressionist master in history", but it was less than one-third of this price.

Beyond the price.

In terms of identity and qualifications, the name Wu Guanzhong is an old gentleman that all the exhibitors in this exhibition, whether they are Eastern or Western painters, must treat with respect and dignity.

Gu Weijing looked at the work quietly.

Mr. Wu’s writing style always has an extremely unique temperament, just like... just like... Lu Xun’s writings.

Lu Xun always managed to write a long and impressive story starting from a very small thing, a very minor detail, such as an ordinary conversation in a restaurant.

This is the master's pattern.

Wu Guanzhong is always able to use a very small space and a tightly framed canvas to create a painting with a long and lasting atmosphere.

Some content lies between pen, ink and color.

There is more content outside the frame, and the "remaining" is in the heart of every viewer of the painting.

This is of course also the master's pattern.

However, most masters throughout history are people with tempers, and their paintings also have "tempers".

This loaned exhibition hall will not last throughout the Lion City Biennale.

According to the schedule, visitors to the Esplanade will only have the opportunity to see this special exhibition hall during the first week of the exhibition.

By next week.

The National Gallery Singapore will take back this "exhibition within the exhibition".

At that time——

The exhibition hall was vacated.

"According to the information conveyed by the curatorial assistant Bonnie, this exhibition hall will belong to me. Then my painting "Human Noise" will replace the current "Water Village People" and be placed here."

Tonks's arrangement is still full of his art of "brewing black tea".

While he made up his mind to lick Gu Weijing hard, he was also trying to delay for a while until the interview was over, and then make a final observation of the attitude of the Oil Painting magazine.

After the debate about Gu Weijing's paper came to a temporary end, he stretched his neck and head out to determine the wind direction, and then pushed Gu Weijing up, giving a standard "YES AND NO" answer.

No matter whether Gu Weijing guessed or not what the curator was thinking.

At this moment, he had to admit that Ms. Bonnie Lampcher was right.

This was indeed the best exhibition hall and the best booth that Tonks could give him.

Let his "Human Noise" take over the position of Wu Guanzhong's "Water Village People".

Let an eighteen-year-old young man’s exhibition take over the exhibition vacated by a top international senior master.

No one can say with a clear conscience that the curator has not taken good enough care of him.

Gu Weijing was not worried that the booth Tonks had arranged for him was not good enough or important enough. He was just worried that the booth Tonks had arranged for him was too good and too important.

Can he catch it?

Can his "Human Noise" also make visitors from all over the world who come to the Biennale stop, stare, and then sigh like this "Water Village People"?
pity.

He couldn't ask Mr. Sloth this question.

perhaps.

Only when the time comes can the tourists give Gu Weijing the most truthful answer with their gestures and eyes.

“As a painter, standing in front of such a work, how can I not be yearning for it?”

The man next to him finally lowered his voice.

He switched to Chinese and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Probably every painter, when picking up a paintbrush, has imagined that his or her work could be displayed in a bright art gallery and admired by audiences from all over the world."

“But when their works are actually put on display, everyone will understand that even in the same art gallery, there are huge differences between different stands and different works.”

“It’s like we are standing together at this moment, but we are leading completely different lives.”

"Isn't it, Mr. Gu?"

The young man turned his head and looked at Gu Weijing's profile with amusement.

Gu Weijing realized at this moment that although the other party did not have an artist badge hanging on his chest like him, they had met at the artist banquet last night.

According to Lao Yang’s introduction at that time.

His name seems to be——

"Cui Xiaoming, participating artist, although we haven't greeted each other formally, I think we must have seen each other from afar at the banquet yesterday. I hope you have some impression of us."

The young man with slightly feminine features and naturally curly black hair took the initiative to extend his hand to him. "Since we are both participating in the Lion City Biennale and this is the Esplanade, I won't say it's a coincidence."

"I just saw you from a distance, so I came over to say hello. Wei Jing... Can I call you Wei Jing? I hope I didn't disturb your elegance."

Cui Xiaoming smiled.

Lao Yang reminded Gu Weijing to be careful with the other person during the exhibition, but Gu Weijing still stretched out his hand and simply shook hands with the other person.

first.

Gu Weijing is not like Miss Elena, who is so strong that if she doesn’t like you, she will stretch out her hand to signal you to get out. He has a more introverted personality.

Secondly.

Let’s put aside Lao Yang’s warning.

Cui Xiaoming's behavior did not make Gu Weijing feel annoying. He came up to him and greeted him politely. Gu Weijing felt that his analysis of Wu Guanzhong's "Water Village People" was also very good.

The grasp and interpretation of the Eastern and Western aura was very accurate and almost completely touched Gu Weijing's heart.

This made him subconsciously have a natural liking for her.

(End of this chapter)